ISLAMABAD - Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s delegation led by its President Fazal Jilani met the Federal Minister for Finance, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar here Friday. The delegation was accompanied by Federal Minister for Water & Power Khawaja Mohammad Asif.
Fazal Jilani apprised the Finance Minister of the tax related issues faced by the business community in Sialkot and also put forth suggestions regarding the budget 2015-16.
Members of the delegation requested the Finance Minister to help expedite the process of sales tax refunds which they said would resolve their liquidity problem. The Finance Minister assured the delegation of all possible assistance and asked Chairman FBR Tariq Bajwa to facilitate the SCCI in the matter. Chairman FBR proposed forming a committee comprising officials from the FBR side and representatives of the Sialkot business community to resolve taxation issues.
The Finance Minister informed the delegation that the Government considered it her obligation to facilitate exporters and business community as a priority. “We have already expedited the process of duty drawback and have paid Rs. 112 million more compared to the last year in Sialkot Collectorate alone. We are trying to further improve the system”, the Minister remarked. The delegation appreciated the decision of the Government of lowering the interest rate and requested the Minister to review export refinance schemes for enhancing exports. The delegation invited the Finance Minister to SCCI after the budget session for having an interactive session with the business community of Sialkot. The Minister thanked the delegation for the invitation. M. Yunus, Chairman Gloves (Manufacturing) Association, Hassan Ali Bhatti, former President SCCI, Ch. Zulfiqar Hayat Chairman PLGMEA, Khawar Spall, Executive member SCCI, Ehsan Naeem, former SVP SCCI, Tahir Ashfaq, Chairman Surgical Association, Malik Naseer Ahmad, Vice President SCCI and Umer Mir, Executive member SCCI were the part of the delegation.