Traders seek SOPs to open shops for six hours daily

PESHAWAR: Former vice president of Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) and Chairman of Businessman Panel KP Mohammad Adnan Jalil has called for framing standard operating procedures (SOPs) for traders to open their shops for six hours a day during the lockdown. Talking to reporters here on Sunday, he said that the prolonging of the lockdown was badly impacting the economy, small shopkeepers and daily wagers and urged the government to allow the opening of wholesale shops for minimum time to bring improvement in the supply of essentials to grocers and discourage profiteers and hoarders.

He said that the provincial government has already constituted a taskforce headed by Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Economic Zones Development and Management Company (KPEZDMC) to review impact of the coronavirus on the industries of the province that had already exempted various industries including cement, sugar, textile tobacco, bottled water, pharmaceutical companies and its allied industry of the lockdown. Therefore, he said that SOPs should also be framed for the opening of medical clinics, hakims, and optical shops, motorcycle showrooms.

Adnan Jalil, who is the son of late Haji Mohammad Adeel, called for declaring all exports at zero-rated to strengthen the industry and earn urgently needed foreign exchange for the country.

He said that under the 7th National Finance Commission (NFC) Award, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has a share of one percent in the federal divisible pool in head of war on terror and these funds should be diverted for the support of the business community with immediate effect.

The senior leader of the Businessman Panel also called for the abolition of excise tax on property for this financial year, preparation of the annual provincial budgets for the upcoming financial year 2020-21 should be done in consultations with the business community and reduction of General Sales Tax (GST) on services by the KP government through KP Revenue Authority (KPRA) to 13 percent.

He said that numerous import consignments were stuck at Karachi Port due to lockdown and ban on transport due to the coronavirus pandemic and after restoration of normalcy, the importers would have to pay millions of rupees in head of demurrage charges that are being charged on daily basis. Adnan proposed to the federal government to play a role in waiving off the demurrage charges and only those containers having import goods and industrial raw material should be allowed to travel.