KARACHI: The business community said that the Prime Minister industrial package will attract new investment of $5 billion alone in the industrial sector, a statement said on Thursday.
The package will provide impetus to the economic growth in the country and lead Pakistan towards prosperity through industrialisation.
The FPPCI’s Businessmen Panel (BMP) ruling group Chairman Mian Anjum Nisar observed that the new ordinance has amended the Income Tax Ordinance 2001, to extend the promotion package for industry and encourage entrepreneurs to invest in the industrial undertakings out of their undisclosed assets.
“We salute Prime Minister Imran Khan and appreciate the efforts of his whole team, especially Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin, Federal Industries Minister Khusro Bakhtiar, Prime Minister Adviser Razaq Dawood, Secretary Industries Jawwad Rafique and Joint Secretary Hamid Atique for launching the game-changing and the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) inclusive industrial growth package, which was promulgated through presidential ordinance,” he added.
FPCCI newly-elected President and Managing Committee Chairman Irfan Iqbal Sheikh said that tax incentives, especially for those with documented funds, are important to attract investors, adding that these incentives alone will not do the trick and the government should also undertake legal, regulatory and energy reforms and cut the bureaucratic red tape to make manufacturers and exporters competitive in the international markets.
Pakistan has grown its overseas sales in the last couple of years but its dependence on low-value-added textiles and lack of market diversification means that its imports have far outpaced its exports, Sheikh said.
Nisar, who is also former president of FPCCI, observed that the entire business, industrial and trade community of Pakistan acknowledge and appreciate the Prime Minister on the announcement of the historical, industrial growth package, with a special silver lining for the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
He maintained that the package of tax incentives would push industrialisation in the country and strengthen efforts to support private capital investment in the manufacturing businesses.
The real appreciating point of the package is that the business community was taken onboard in the whole process and FPCCI’s all suggestions were incorporated in the industrial package, he said.
The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) President and Pakistan Industrial and Traders Associations Front (PIAF) Chairman Mian Nauman Kabir said that narrow and inadequate industrialisation is one of the major reasons for Pakistan’s low exports along with the repeated currency crises that the economy has endured over the last several decades after brief periods of economic boom.
He said that no country could advance economically, generate jobs and alleviate poverty without boosting and diversifying industrial productivity.
Pakistan has sought 12 bailout packages from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the last three decades to cope with its recurring balance-of-payment difficulties, he said, the journey to diversified industrialisation can be tough and long, and requires consistency in policies and perseverance, he added.
PIAF Senior Vice Chairman Nasir Hameed said that the package is aimed at bolstering investments in new companies, reviving closed factories and helping existing industrial units expand their production capacities and upgrade their technology.
The incentives will be applicable on capital investments of Rs50 million and above in small to large industrial units.
PIAF Vice Chairman and Footwear Manufacturers Association former chief Javed Siddiqi said that all local, foreign and overseas Pakistani investors are eligible to benefit from the tax cuts and exemptions if they start production before the end of fiscal year 2024.
The important point is that no questions will be asked about the source of funds invested in industrial projects, which was the major demand of the industry that was also accepted, leading to attracting new investment of up to $5 billion in the country, he stated.
The country is facing many financial challenges including the current account deficit, balance of payments gap, swelling imports and foreign loans, however, with concerted efforts and right policies, the country will pass through the tough period, he said.
Highlighting several other incentives announced by the government, he said they would usher the nation towards an industrial revolution, besides increasing export volume.
Siddiqi said that the tax collection reached the record level of Rs6 trillion from Rs3.5 trillion, as the government was taking steps to reduce the tax burden on the public.
