FAISALABAD: Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Atif Munir Sheikh on Friday welcomed lifting of ban on import of non-essential and luxury items by Federal Finance Minister Miftah Ismail.
He said that the decision would not only integrate Pakistan with the international community but also exacerbate economic activities within the country. He said that the Ministry of Commerce had an online consultative meeting just a few days ago to discuss this hot topic and in it, he had supported the lifting of the ban as we have to survive in the global environment.
He said that the government had taken the right step by proposing hefty regulatory duties along with sales tax and custom duties etc instead of clamping a ban on its imports. “This step would indirectly discourage the import of luxury items”, he added. He said that the government was already giving top priority to the import of raw material and in order to save domestic industry, the import of finished products would be discouraged through regulatory measures.
Atif Munir Sheikh said that the country was passing through a critical stage and the responsibility to select import of essential or non-essential items had been put on the business community.
