A rift has emerged within the business community over the proposed nationwide strike on July 19, 2025, against the recently introduced enforcement and fiscal measures in the federal budget.
Business community leaders held a divided press conference after meeting with a government delegation led by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb.
President of the Federation Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Atif Akram Sheikh, informed the media that the government has constituted a committee under the chairmanship of SAPM Haroon Akhtar to address the concerns of the business community.
This committee will conduct detailed consultations on the issues over the next 30 days and present a consensus-based, workable solution to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, he informed.
Except for the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry, all other chambers and trade bodies are aligned with the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), he said.
Meanwhile, President Lahore Chamber of Commerce and industry Mian Abuzar Shad said that government should immediately deferred the introduced measures concerning arrest of businessmen, tax on over Rs. 200,000 cash based transactions, deputing of tax officials in business premises, “e-bilty” an electronic monitoring and tracking of goods through a digital documents, E-Invoice and change of code in every two months.
He categorically announced that the Lahore Chamber will observe a strike on July 19, 2025, in protest against the controversial measures introduced in the federal budget.
According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance that an important meeting was held in Islamabad under the chairmanship of the Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, with representatives of the country’s business community, chambers of commerce, and traders’ associations.
The meeting focused on detailed discussions regarding traders’ concerns over Section 37A introduced under the Finance Act 2025 and other related matters.
During the meeting, Federal Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb assured the business community of the government’s full cooperation and transparency. He emphasized that the government’s objective is solely to prevent large-scale tax fraud, not to harass legitimate and honest businesses.
It was decided in the meeting that a committee will be formed under the leadership of Haroon Akhtar Khan, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Industries and Production.
The committee will include Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani, Prime Minister’s Coordinator on Trade Rana Ehsan Afzal Khan, Chairman FBR, and nominated representatives from the business community and chambers of commerce. This committee will hold detailed consultations over the next 30 days on the issues at hand and will present a consensus-based and practical solution to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet.
Business representatives openly shared their concerns and suggestions during the meeting. The government expressed its commitment to consider these inputs seriously and to proceed by taking all stakeholders into confidence.
It was also agreed that every possible effort will be made to address traders’ concerns regarding transactions, and no difficulties will be created for the business community during this interim period.