Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) President Mian Abuzar Shad has urged the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to immediately withdraw the recently issued Statutory Regulatory Orders (SROs) that have triggered serious concern across the cement distribution sector.
In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, he called for urgent his intervention in the matter. The appeal followed a comprehensive meeting between the LCCI president and a delegation of the All Pakistan Cement Distributors Association, which thoroughly discussed the implications of the newly introduced regulatory measures.
Shad said that SRO 578(I)/2025, issued on April 8, 2025, makes it mandatory that all business transactions be conducted through banking channels and requires detailed buyer information for each sale. He highlighted that the policy is impractical in the current economic scenario, noting that nearly 40% of cement is sold to walk-in customers; many of whom rely on cash payments. He added that cheque payments are not a viable alternative due to a high cheque bounce rate and the lack of effective legal recourse for recovery.
He emphasised that the remaining 60% of sales typically involve cash recoveries from wholesalers and retailers, especially in rural areas where access to banking services remains severely limited.
He cautioned that the implementation of this SRO would not only disrupt the documented supply chain but could also force many compliant businesses to become non-compliant, potentially leading to closure and financial losses due to the denial of input tax caused by bounced cheques.
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