Business leaders welcome Federal Budget 2014-15

By Syed Sajid Aziz

(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Ismail Suttar, Vice President, Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FPCCI) and President, Lasbela Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), has declared the federal budget 2014-15 as a difficult one but the incentives offered to the export sector was a welcome step which could help in accelerating exports from Pakistan.

He said that like the previous governments, this one too has refrained from taking revolutionary steps like imposition of income tax on agriculture sector and bringing big fishes into the tax net or even taking measures to prevent major tax evasions.

He remarked that the government, instead of scrapping Benazir Income Support Scheme, has not only extended it but increased the allocations from Rs75 billion to Rs114 which could be utilized in some productive schemes such as microfinance to the poor instead of turning them into beggars.

Ismail Sattar expressed his dismay over skipping proposed Hub Dry Port from the PSDP as demanded by the industrialists of Balochistan.

He opined that the budget outlay was quite complicated and it seemed that the government would have to depend on external resources than the internal ones in order to meet the budgetary allocations.

The Chairman of the Pakistan Tanners Association (PTA) South Zone, Fawwad Jawed, reckoned that the budget announced by the federal minister for finance was quite balanced one and full of incentives to the business communities especially the export sector. He also welcomed the establishment of Exim Bank and reducing the export refinance rate.

The Chairman of the Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PRGMEA), South Zone, Arshad Aziz, praised the incentives given to the exports sector in the Budget 2014-15 wherein a four percent duty drawback is offered to the garments sector.

He stated that the establishment of Exim Bank was also a long time commitment by the exporters and hoped that it would be fulfilled this time. He hoped that government would clear all the pending claims of refunds as committed by the minister in his speech. 

The President of the All Karachi Industrial Alliance, Mian Zahid Husain, while welcoming the federal budget has declared it business friendly.

He said that Finance Minister, Ishaq Dar, has taken a right step in right direction by bringing retail sector into tax net. He welcomed the imposition of advance tax on purchase of heavy vehicles, properties and electricity bills over Rs 100,000 per month. He however, regretted that government has refrained from imposition of tax on agriculture.