He said that various concessions are available to local manufacturers including pharmaceutical manufacturers, textile industry, solar sector, aviation, mining and agro-based industries. The minister said that regulatory duty has also been levied on import of many items which are locally manufactured to encourage the local industry. To a question, he said that a uniform industrial policy has been adopted and there is no discrimination or special treatment with any area of the country.
The government is also taking measures to reduce the cost of doing business in Pakistan, he said adding that the government has broken the backbone of terrorists which made the country a favourite destination of foreign investment.
The minister said that tariff cascading is done in such a manner that statutory rate of customs duty is the highest on import of locally manufactured products, adding that many concessions/exemptions are also extended to local industry involved in exports such as duty drawback scheme, duty and tax remission for export scheme, manufacturing bond, export processing zones, temporary importation scheme, small and medium enterprises and export oriented units.
Responding to another question, Rana Muhammad Afzal Khan informed the House that the government has taken various steps to get information regarding ill-gotten money stashed in foreign banks. He said from January this year, Pakistan will be getting and exchanging information regarding accounts of Pakistani nationals in Swiss Banks.
To another question regarding pilfering data of credit/debit cards holders of various banks through illegal means and installing gadgets in ATMs, the House was informed that State Bank of Pakistan has been taking notice of the recent instances of skimming and has issued instructions to banks to ensure safety and security of payment infrastructure in the country.
In 2014, 18 banks reported 3,783 complaints to the SBP involving Rs 89,236,504 and in 2015 as many as 17 banks reported 5,618 complaints of pilfering data to the SBP involving Rs 76,155,119, the House was informed. The House was informed that a total of 17 banks registered 9,656 complaints of involving Rs 101,983,351 to the SBP and 23 banks reported 13,827 complaints to the SBP regarding pilfering data of credit/debit cards involving Rs 203,182,269. The SBP immediately followed up with banks to compensate customers for their losses, the House was informed, adding that banks also report such cases to Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for criminal investigation.