KARACHI: The Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) on Wednesday demanded the government to announce first-ever “industrial amnesty” to the export sector without seeking the source of income, as it would bring the undeclared hidden assets in the documented economy, besides boosting the volume of export.
The decision to seek the amnesty was taken during a high-level meeting of the FPCCI’s anomaly committee, which was chaired by United Business Group Chairman Iftikhar Ali Malik. Among others, the meeting was also attended by FPCCI President Eng Daroo Khan Achakzai.
It was decided unanimously that the federation and all its affiliated chambers and trade associations would fully support the government’s efforts in accelerating the pace of economic growth.
Talking to media after the anomaly committee meeting, FPCCI Daroo Khan Achakzai said that trillions of rupees were hidden as undocumented money, which could be injected in the new industries in order to generate millions of jobs.
He said that consensus was also developed on the immediate revival of the sick industry so as to bring it in the mainstream of rapid industrialisation.
He demanded the government to extend interest-free loans for the restoration of sick industrial units and plants by waiving off their previous loans.
The FPCCI president said that the export processing zones and special economic zones should be reactivated to attract foreign and local investors.
He noted that 95pc of Pakistan’s economy consisted of the non-corporate sector while the share of the corporate sector was 5pc. “The non-corporate sector badly needs immediate attention of the government.”
The committee reviewed the acceptance of FPCCI proposals and suggestions put forth to Prime Minister Imran Khan, PM’s Adviser on Finance Abdul Hafeez Sheikh and Adviser on Commerce Adbul Razak Dawood.
Achakzai said that the budget anomaly committee, after thread bear discussions with all chambers, had submitted 56 proposals for their immediate rectification in the budget.
UBG Chairman Iftikhar Ali Malik on the occasion said that Prime Minister Imran Khan must focus on rapid industrialisation and take bold steps to speed up economic growth by restoring the confidence of foreign and local investors.
He said that UBG, the largest alliance of chambers and trade bodies in the county, and FPCCI, despite reservation in the budget, were supporting the amnesty scheme, crackdown against tax evaders, and documentation of the unregistered economy.
