Karachi (Commerce Reporter) – The President of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), Atif Ikram Sheikh, Senior Vice President, Saqib Fayyaz Magoo, Vice President Aman Pracha, President of United Business Group (UBG), Zubair Tufail, Chairman of Pakistan Vanaspati Association, Umar Rehan, Chairman of Timber Merchants Association, Sharjeel Goplani, renowned businessman Shahzad Mian, and other business figures expressed mixed reactions to the Federal Budget 2025-26, stating that the new fiscal year’s budget is detrimental to industry. However, the Patron-in-Chief of the United Business Group (UBG), S.M. Tanveer, commented that the government has accepted their demand regarding Federal Excise Duty, and the government will receive 3 trillion rupees from the expiry of IPP agreements, which is a positive step for the power sector.
Furthermore, Karachi Chamber President Javed Bilwani and Chairman of the Businessmen Group, Zubair Motiwala, termed the Finance Minister’s budget speech as a “camouflage.” Expressing his thoughts via video link, Atif Ikram Sheikh mentioned that the federal government has accepted some of their proposals in the financial budget and rejected others. He noted that inflation has decreased, so the interest rate should be at 7%, and some funds have been allocated for electricity subsidies, but it remains to be seen how these funds will be spent. Regarding tax forms, the budget claims to have simplified them, but in practice, they haven’t been.
Senior Vice President of FPCCI, Saquib Fayyaz Magoon, Chairman of the Budget Committee Zubair Tufail, Aman Paracha, Sharjeel Goplani, Shehzad Mubeen, Rafiq Suleman, Javed Jelani, and others are listening to the Federal Budget speech.
Saqib Fayyaz Magoo stated that the reduction of super tax is a good decision, and the allocation of a budget for the Hyderabad-Sukkur motorway is a positive step. He also mentioned that the government’s acceptance of their demands regarding withholding tax on property transfer and ending FED (Federal Excise Duty) on property transfers is a good move. On the customs front, the pre-clearance of goods by customs will make it easier to obtain industrial raw materials. However, the increase in income tax on savings is not right, as it will affect the public, especially pensioners. Although their demand to remove EFS (Export Facilitation Scheme) for local industry was not accepted, bringing non-filers into the tax net is a positive step. The imposition of a 10% sales tax on FATA and PATA will benefit the government and help close avenues for corruption. However, taxing petroleum products is not appropriate. They also noted that the fixed tax regime does not include exporters, which was one of their demands.
Vice President Aman Pracha said that the government should have developed a policy for alternative energy, but instead, they imposed an 18% sales tax on solar panels, which will increase costs. They also criticized the imposition of sales tax on e-commerce transactions, which they believe will hurt unemployed youth who earn money through e-commerce. He also mentioned that they were seeking relief to help industries stabilize, but the agriculture sector also didn’t receive any support, and there was no relief for the education sector either.
Sharjeel Goplani called it a “public enemy” budget, emphasizing that it’s a budget with a 6.5 trillion rupee deficit. He lamented the lack of job opportunities for children and criticized the 18% tax on the IT sector.
The Vice Chairman of the Rice Exporters Association, Javed Jilani, and former Chairman Rafiq Suleman welcomed the government’s initiative to provide 100,000 rupees to 700,000 farmers without collateral, which they saw as a positive move. They also praised the allocation of 15 billion rupees for the Hyderabad-Sukkur motorway, which will benefit farmers and exporters by easing the transportation of agricultural products. However, they raised concerns about the introduction of a 2% tax, as it had previously been 1%, leading to more scrutiny.
Umar Rehan, Chairman of the Pakistan Vanaspati Association, stated that the industry has not received any benefits from the budget, and the ghee and oil sectors are not satisfied with it. He expressed disappointment, although they supported the 10% tax on FATA and PATA. Overall, he stated that they were disappointed with the federal budget.
The Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) criticized the Finance Minister’s budget speech, calling it “camouflage” and accusing the government of making no plans to boost exports or encourage industrial development. Javed Bilwani, President of KCCI, in a press conference, said that there were no measures in the budget to increase exports, and he also highlighted the severe water crisis in Karachi, calling the 3.2 billion rupees allocated for the K-IV project a joke. Bilwani also pointed out that the Finance Minister did not meet with Karachi’s business community and claimed that the government prioritized debt repayments over tax-paying citizens.
Zubair Motiwala, Chairman of the Businessmen Group, expressed surprise over the imposition of a tax on solar panels, adding that it would increase difficulties in tax collection. He also doubted the government’s ability to meet the tax collection targets set in the budget.
