KARACHI – The CNIC condition has taken a toll on the trading and industrial sector and it is crippling the iron and steel industry, a leading business leader said Friday.
The lingering stalemate between FBR and business community over sharing of CNIC is not in the national interest therefore the matter should be resolved, said Karim Aziz Malik, Chairman Pakistan Steel Re-rolling Mills Association.
He said that the business of the iron and steel sector has been reduced by almost forty percent and many units have been closed which is hitting employment and revenue generation.
Karim Azizi Malik who has also served as Vice President of FPCCI said that Prime Minister Imran Khan has recently announced while talking to the business community in the convention center that NIC conditions for the industrial sector would be deferred after which the industrialists tool a sigh of relief.
However, he said, the decision of the PM has not been implemented therefore a notification should be issued without further delay to calm the industrialist community.
The business leader said that there are around 160 re-rolling mills providing jobs to hundreds of thousands of people and paying billions of rupees in taxes but they are facing serious unresolved issues.
There are no mega projects at the moment therefore the demand for steel has reduced while smuggling has also become a concern for the stakeholders which should be noticed, he added.
He said that the industrial sector fully backs the move of the government to document the economy as the country cannot run without taxes.
The increasing line losses of the power and the gas sector has also become an issue which should not be resolved by increasing the tariff but through administrative measures and the increased price of energy ass to the cost of doing business and make life difficult for the masses, he said.
