SCCI opposes instant freezing of bank accounts

PESHAWAR: The Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) has opposed the restoration of field formation powers of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for freezing bank accounts of defaulters without prior intimation of 24 hours.

It urged the government to withdraw the decision and restrain FBR from taking this action which it said was anti-business.

“The FBR action would prove counterproductive to all the efforts being made by the government for ease of doing business, which should be reviewed in the best interest of the business community”, said SCCI Acting President in a statement issued here on Thursday. He said the restoration of FBR powers was tantamount to opening a new way for corruption. The SCCI representative demanded the withdrawal of the decision at the earliest or else the business community would be forced into launching a protest drive.

He said that the FBR had taken the decision to revoke the clause that made it mandatory to warn defaulters 24 hours before freezing their bank accounts.