RAWALPINDI - Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) delegation, headed by its president Raja Amer Iqbal, called on Prime Minister’s Special Assistance on Revenue, Haroon Akhtar Khan on Friday.

Haroon Akhtar Khan, while talking to the delegation, said that the government is well aware of the problems being faced by traders and industrialists. “We are trying to provide maximum assistance and incentives to broaden the tax net. Real estate, a Rs6000 billion industry, is one of the examples here. The government took the initiative and revised the deputy commissioner rate (DC rate) so that this industry can flourish in its letter and spirit. Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) will not harass taxpayers in the name of tax collection. However, he emphasized that traders should show compliance and must update their accounts.” On this occasion, President RCCI Raja Amer Iqbal, said that in Pakistan the number of tax return filers is very low, 1.1 million filers, reflecting 0.6% percent of the total population. He urged government to provide incentives to increase the tax net. He suggested that local chamber membership should be made compulsory for starting up new business set up. This will help in two ways, broadening the tax net and documenting the economy, he added. RCCI President appreciated the resumption of Alternate Dispute Resolution Committee (ADRC) and expressed hope that this will resolve the pending and outstanding cases. He again urged government to provide maximum incentive to new and existing tax payers.

The delegation included RCCI senior vice president Rashid Waien, vice president Asim Malik, group leaders Sheikh Shabbir, Sohail ALtaf, SM Naseem, former president Asad Mashadi and other traders.