Mini budget is business friendly, balanced and realistic - MCCI office bearers

MULTAN, Jan 25th: The businessmen of South Punjab have hailed the mini budget presented by the PTI government describing it balanced, far-reaching and realistic. It has offered good benefits to SMEs, industry, agriculture and capital market. Business community further said that government’s measures would help in enhancing exports and facilitating investment in the country.  Muhammad Sarfraz president of Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) while talking to this scribe  said that government has taken a good step for ease of doing business by allowing the businesses to file biannually withholding tax statements instead of filing them every month which was a great hassle. He said that government also reduced income tax rate from 35% to 20% on income of banks arising from loans to micro enterprises, SMEs, agriculture and low-cost housing finance which was laudable as it would help the banking sector to extend more credit to SMEs for business expansion. He said that withdrawal of withholding tax on banking transactions of filers was also a positive step as it would provide them good relief. He hoped that these good measures would reduce the cost of doing business and accelerate the growth of agriculture business and industrial activities in the country.
Khawaja Badar Munir , senior vice president  and Sheikh Muhammad Amjad, vice president MCCI, said that providing five-year exemption to industrial undertakings set up between 1st March 2019 and 30th June 2023 for manufacturing of equipment used in generation of renewable energy was a commendable step as it would be helpful for producing cheap renewable energy for industry and consumers. They said that giving sales tax exemption on imported plant and machinery for green field industries would encourage green field investment and industrialization. They said that billions of rupees of exporters were stuck up with FBR in refunds, which was causing liquidity problems for them and it was encouraging that the government has allowed issuance of promissory notes to claimants of refunds at their option that would help in resolving this longstanding issue. They hoped that the economic reforms measures taken in the second supplementary finance bill would go a long way in promoting market capitalization, industrialization and investment leading to early recovery of the overall economy.

Similarly, Khawaja Jalaluddin Roomi , chairman Multan Dryport Trust ,President of Industrial Estate Management board has also called the mini-budget as pro exports and industry. “Reduction of customs duty on raw material and removal of withholding tax on tax return filers are very positive steps and will facilitate the export-oriented industry,” Roomi said.He further said a cut in income tax rates for banks’ profits derived from small and medium enterprises, agriculture, and low-cost housing financing would encourage investment and business expansion.Roomi expressed satisfaction that the Finance Minister has announced and assured in his budget speech to resolve the longstanding matter of Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC) which will reduce the acute problems of liquidity crunch faced by the textile processing industry. He assured the PM Imran Khan and FM Asad Umer of the full cooperation and unstinted support of the textile processing sector e.o.m.Meanwhile, the Former

President of Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Mian Tanvir A Sheikh also welcomed the mini budget. “The package has accommodated the recommendations of the business community,” said Tanvir A Sheikh.He particularly appreciated the Federal Minister for Finance Asad Umar and said that he remained in touch with the business community to take positive policy measures for the industrial uplift.
He congratulated the print media industry that was one of the beneficiaries of the current budget as the government had allowed duty free import of news print.
He specifically appreciated the reduction in income tax for agriculture, housing and agriculture financing from 39 percent to 20 percent.He said that another positive step announced in this budget was reduction in taxes on marriage halls from Rs20,000 to Rs5,000 only.

All Pakistan Bedsheet and Upholstry Manufacturers Association (APBUMA) Ex-Chairman Syed Muhammad Aasim Shah felicitated Finance Minister Asad Umar and Prime Minister Imran Khan for presenting a progressive, balanced, business-friendly, investment-friendly and peoples-friendly mini budget for the year 2018-19, despite economic crisis, enormous odds and resource constraint, which is a healthy augury for Pakistan and right steps in the right direction.

He observed, with certain amount of satisfaction that a number of positive corrective measures and incentives have been envisaged in the FM’s budget speech, e.g., removal and reduction of customs and regulatory duties on import of industrial raw materials, removal of super tax, payment of sales tax refunds through promissory notes, elimination of withholding tax on banking transaction, abolition of super tax, facility of filing of withholding tax statement on half yearly instead of monthly, exemption of tax for manufacturing of equipment for renewable energy, reduction of loan tax for former. All these positive measures and incentives would go a long way towards ameliorating and energizing our exports, industrial, corporate, private, agriculture sectors, create investments and job opportunities and business activities in our country.