FPCCI | Pakistan

HYDERABAD: The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) has expressed concern over the sales tax hike on hybrid vehicles, from 8.5 per cent to 25pc, and warned that this short-sighted policy would hurt consumers and cripple the auto industry. In a statement issued on Saturday, Adeel Siddiqui, a member of the FPCCI Executive Committee, noted that tax concessions on hybrid vehicles expired on June 30 and with no new auto policy notified in time, the Federal Board of Revenue restored the general sales tax rate of 25pc on hybrid electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles. He said that this represented a massive increase from earlier preferential rates of 8.5pc for hybrids up to 1800cc and 12.75pc for those above 1800cc. So, he said, the auto industry was in chaos and automakers have temporarily halted production and stopped issuing invoices because they do not know which sales tax rate to apply. Calls for notifying new auto policy immediately He said that a production halt affected thou...

The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) on Friday warned that Pakistan’s industrial sector was facing a severe crisis due to high energy tariffs and heavy taxation, leading to widespread factory closures and job losses. In December, it was reported that over 100 spinning mills and over 400 ginning factories had become non-operational, triggered by unprecedented taxes, high power tariffs, and a surge in under-invoiced cotton yarn and fabric imports from China and other countries. Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad, President FPCCI Atif Ikram Sheikh said, “Costly electricity has crippled industrial activity, particularly in the textile sector.” “Around 150 large textile units had shut down over the past two years,” he stated. Sheikh urged the government to immediately abolish cross-subsidies imposed on the industrial sector and reduce the policy rate to single digits. He proposed that interest rates be cut first to nine per cent and subsequently to seven per cent to revive ...