The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) has lauded the initiative of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) for relaxing some restrictions on imports from January 02, 2023. Faad Waheed, Acting President of ICCI, said in a meeting with a delegation of business community that relaxing of import restrictions would help in improving the manufacturing and business activities. He said that the economy of Pakistan needs to boost exports for which it is important that the central bank further relaxes the import restrictions and adopt a more lenient import policy as many export-oriented industries have to import raw material and intermediate goods to produce the finished products.

Faad said the policy regarding restricted imports is badly affecting tax collection of the country. The loss in revenue collection at the import stage varies between Rs30 billion to Rs50 billion per month. The ICCI acting president said that if the imports are not further relaxed, the contractionary policy will further impact the revenue collection in the coming months. He urged the SBP to take the major chambers of commerce and industry of the country on board to make further relaxations in imports so that the business activities can flourish, and exports can be further increased. Muhammad Azharul Islam, Vice President of ICCI, said a cooperative policy on imports will promote business and investment activities in the country.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk