ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Asad Umar on Wednesday held a meeting with a delegation of Pakistan Business Council (PBC).
The PBC delegation discussed with the minister about the overall business environment in the country and made recommendations for necessary policy interventions to enhance business and commercial activity in the economy. The recommendations included measures related to tax as well as ease of doing business.
The finance minister said the government believed in facilitating all sectors of the economy and was taking serious measures to create an enabling business environment by having a quality tax regime.
The minister particularly expressed the government’s commitment to resolving the sales tax refund issue on a sustainable basis. He informed the delegation that FBR had been directed to review and improve the Expeditious Refund System (ERS) parameters to ensure early processing of exporters’ claims.
He said that the procedure for processing of DLTL claims was also being revised to ensure that the delays are eliminated.
The delegation also raised the issue of gas infrastructure development cess (GIDC). The minister said that the prolonged litigation was neither in the interest of the business community nor the government. He sought recommendations of the business community to resolve this long-standing issue.
The minister said that the government was working on enhancing the productivity of various sectors and promoting value addition with a view to achieving export enhancement and job creation. He invited the business community to make suggestions for achieving these objectives.
