Islamabad : A meeting was held between the Advisor to the Prime Minister on Commerce & Investment, Abdul Razak Dawood and a delegation of Peshawar Chamber of Small Traders and Small Industry on the 15th of January 2021. The office bearers and representatives of the Chamber briefed the Advisor to the PM on their activities and their plans for support and development of SME sector.
The basic issues highlighted by the Chamber related to having a representation in policy making for the SME sector and across the board implementation and enforcement of tax regime within the provincial areas as well as within the merged areas of FATA. It was stated that disparities in the tax laws and non-enforcement of the Sales tax regime encourages disparities between tax filers and non-filers which needs to be removed. Appreciating the efforts of the Government of Pakistan towards anti-smuggling, the desire to enforce IPR enforcement all across KPK as well as Pakistan was endorsed. The issues relating to packaging and labelling requirements as well as enforcement of regulatory requirements that FMCG sector for both MNCs and local corporations/companies was also discussed.
The Chamber also requested the Advisor to support their efforts for provision of free land so that the Chamber can set up its offices in Peshawar and also set up incubation and training centers for SME development in Peshawar, which can cater to the demand of KPK province.
Appreciating the inputs of the Peshawar Chamber of Small Traders and Small Industry, the Advisor to the Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment, reiterated the desire of the Government to support the SME sector and facilitating their ease of doing businesses in Pakistan. Their proposals for documentation of the economy were appreciated and the Chamber representatives were briefed on the initiatives that are being taken by the Government on the subject.