–Only revenue being generated is by food industryKARACHI: Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) President Agha Shahab Ahmed Khan has requested Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Syed Murad Ali Shah to devise an effective mechanism for providing immediate relief to perturbed businessmen and industrialists by directing the Sindh Revenue Board (SRB) to discontinue collection of all types of taxes, including service tax and other levies. Agha said that the business and industrial community, which is already providing cash and food to the needy Karachiites on humanitarian grounds, would try its best to somehow sustain the entire burden of wages and salaries payable for this month only but they will not be able to do so next month. The private sector needs relief to deal with the stress on their balance sheets, avoiding lay-offs and rescuing industrial units from becoming sick or bankrupt,” he said. While appreciating the efforts being made by the Sindh government to prevent and minimise the damages caused by the pandemic, Agha noted that the Sindh government took many tough and praiseworthy decisions to save precious lives. However, the overall industrial production in seven industrial town zones was suffering badly due to the lockdown due to which only 20 to 40 per cent of revenue was being generated by industries engaged in manufacturing food items only while all other non-food industries remain completely closed, producing zero revenue.

Source: Pakistan Today April 04, 2020 15:11 UTC