In a bid to provide relief to the small traders, Prime Minister Imran Khan has directed to abolish around 150 licenses required for various business activities at the local level.
Chairing a meeting on the licensing regime in the provinces, he also directed the provincial governments to eliminate 74 different licenses of this nature to simplify the procedure of mandatory licenses and introduce an automated system by using modern technology.
He expressed concern about the complex licensing regime and said the requirement of licenses for businesses like grocery, cloth and bakery is equal to creating difficulties for the common man. He also emphasized to complete the process of eliminating unnecessary licenses in thirty days.
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PM Assures All-out Support to Industrialists
Prime Minister Imran Khan said that the government always wanted to transform Pakistan into an industrial power and assured that the government and its economic team would extend all facilities and support to the industrialists.
The prime minister was talking to a representative delegation of the newly elected presidents of different chambers of commerce and industries of the country.
Minister for Energy Omar Ayub Khan, Adviser on Commerce Abdul Razzak Dawood, Chairman Investment Board Syed Zubair Gilani and Chairman Federal Board of Revenue Syed Shabbar Zaidi were present during the meeting.
The delegation included Muhammad Ahmed (Islamabad Chamber), Malik Muhammad Ashraf (Sialkot Chamber), Rana Muhammad Sikandar Azam (Faisalabad Chamber), Mian Umar Saleem (Gujranwala Chamber), Ali Hussain Asghar (Lahore Chamber), Mir Naveed Baloch (Gwadar Chamber), Shahid Hussain (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chamber), Rizwan Ali (Gilgit Baltistan chamber) and others.
Upon a proposal of the delegation, the prime minister directed the FBR chairman to hold an open house on each Monday and hear the issues faced by the industrialists.
The prime minister appreciated investment in the information technology, Halal food and medicines and directed the concerned ministries to provide all facilities in this regard. The delegation presented proposals over tax refunds, the supply of gas and power to the industries, the revival of sick industrial units, special economic zones and an increase in exports.
They also appreciated the measures taken by the prime minister and the government’s economic team for the promotion of business and industrialization in the country.
Taxation Key to Revive National Economy
Prime Minister Imran Khan urged the traders to support the government in its endeavor to widen the tax net, terming the taxation a key to reviving the national economy and dignity in the comity of nations.
Addressing the ceremony after an agreement reached between the government and the small traders over the mechanism to register the businesses for taxation, the prime minister said the government wants to bring ease of doing business by removing all the official and systemic impediments.
Under the agreement, committees had been formed at district and sub-district levels comprising two members from the traders community and one from the government, which would assist the registration of small traders for their onward inclusion in the tax system and dispute resolution.
The prime minister said the traders had generously supported his mission of building the cancer hospital but they could not contribute to the revenue generation with that spirit just because of the complex taxation system and the government’s inability to spend the tax money on public welfare.
He said that the businessmen had always complained about the corrupt tax machinery, which also harassed them once they were registered in the tax net.
The prime minister said he supported his household expenditures on his own salary and had set up no camp office. The foreign visits made by him incurred around 10 times lesser expenses than those by the previous rulers.
