Our Staff Reporter
islamabad
The Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI) on Wednesday showed serious concerns over withholding huge amount of tax refunds by Federal Board of Revenue that withheld around Rs 22 billion of the foreign investors working in Pakistan.
The OICCI members had termed the tax refunds the major hurdle in ease of doing business in Pakistan. The OICCI perception survey 2013 had revealed the 86 percent of the foreign investors working in Pakistan are disappointed with process of tax refunds.
Abdul Aleem Chief Executive Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry briefed the journalists that FBR has to refund tax amount wroth of Rs 21-22 billion to the foreign investors working in the country. He added the issue of refunds is much serious among the foreign investors.
The OICCI, a body representing the collective voice of 195 major foreign investors in Pakistan, is paying one-third of the government taxes levies and taxes every year. But the members of the body irked with process of tax refunds. Speaking on the occasion, President Asad Jafar OICCI said that confidence level of the OICCI members had dropped due to the sit-in of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf. The impact of the sit-ins would be seen in future investment,
Meanwhile, the OICCI urged government to show demonstrable support for protection of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), a key indicator of business climate closely monitored by existing and potential foreign investors.   Intellectual Property Organisation of Pakistan Act 2012 (IPOP), approved on 6th December 2012 and supported by key stakeholders, including OICCI, has not been implemented to date. In fact, the government has still not nominated the IPOP chairman, formed the IPOP policy board or established intellectual property rights tribunals to adjudicate IPR violations, which are essential features of the IPOP,” opines President, OICCI Asad S. Jafar.
According to OICCI, IPR violations are widespread, resulting in significant financial and social loss to the government and people of Pakistan. Estimates of sales losses incurred due to IPR infringements by affected companies stand at around Rs 700 billion with the national exchequer losing roughly Rs 190 billion in lost taxes annually, negatively impacting tax-to-GDP ratio by nearly 1 percent.
“The protection of IPR, comprising trademarks, copyrights and patents, is critical for attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Pakistan besides encouraging innovation in society and containing rapid brain drain,” adds Saad Amanullah Khan, who chairs OICCI’s IPR subcommittee.
Leading pharmaceutical and healthcare multinationals, for instance, spend between 15 to 20 percent of their revenue on research and development to introduce new products. Such companies may not be willing to introduce proprietary products in markets that lack adequate IPR protection.
OICCI is also concerned that Pakistan has been on the US IPR Watch List 308 for many years, which may deter potential foreign investors.