FPCCI urges power tariff cut as Chitral sit-in enters tenth day
President Atif Ikram Sheikh says business costs are 30 to 35 percent higher than regional peers and calls for taxes to be reduced from 65 to 35 percent.
Atif Ikram Sheikh, president of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said the cost of doing business in Pakistan is 30 to 35 percent higher than in the rest of the region. Speaking in Karachi, he called on the government to cut the electricity tariff from 11 cents to 7 cents per unit and the gas tariff from 14 cents to 9 cents.
He said total taxes on businesses should be reduced from up to 65 percent to 35 percent, and the interest rate should be set at 9.5 percent and gradually brought down to 6 percent. The FPCCI president also urged a reduction in the petroleum levy and the abolition of taxes on electric vehicles and batteries to support a shift to alternative solutions. He reiterated that these steps were needed to increase exports and make Pakistani costs competitive at regional and international levels.
FPCCI Regional Chairman and Vice President Zaki Aijaz added a series of infrastructure demands. He asked that roads alongside industrial estates be made dual-carriageways, wastewater treatment plants be installed in all industrial estates, and developers be bound by allotment procedures in Special Economic Zones. He demanded boards of management for all industrial estates, revision of the Non-Utilization Fee, and a reduction in the Punjab Infrastructure Development Cess. Aijaz also paid tribute to outgoing PIEDMC Chairman Major (Retd) Javed Iqbal and congratulated newly elected Chairman Shahzad Azam Khan.
Punjab Secretary of Industries Muhammad Umar Masood told the gathering that easy financing for small and medium enterprises is a priority for the Punjab government. He said capital and working capital financing schemes for businesses will be launched soon and will be announced by the chief minister of Punjab.
While business leaders pressed for lower input costs, public anger over power bills continued in Chitral. Dawn reported that a sit-in in a village in Chitral against expensive electricity had entered its 10th day. The News International said protests were continuing in Upper Chitral over the electricity tariff issue.
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