While addressing a meeting of commercial importers Departmental and Brand Stores here at the Lahore Chamber, he said that Sections 38-B and 40-B are grinding the business community and if these powers are not withdrawn, bureaucracy would cause huge damage not only to the business activities but also to the government's reputation. "The foreign investors will not be ready to invest in Pakistan until the government facilitates the business community for smooth running of businesses," he said.
LCCI Acting President Khawaja Shahzad Nasir, former senior vice president Irfan Iqbal Sheikh, Muhammad Aqif, Raja Javed Riaz, Syed Anwar ul Haq, Jalal Khan, Javed Iqbal Siddiqui and others also spoke on the occasion.
The participants were of the view that tax officials were harassing the business community. They said that raids at business premises and markets by the staff of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) are not only adding to the miseries of the business community but are also promoting their trust deficit with the government, therefore, Prime Minister Imran Khan and Federal Finance Minister Asad Umer should take notice of the situation. They said that universal/flat rates of sales tax should be implemented to get rid of input and output invoices.