May 24, 2002	Friday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 11,1423

ISLAMABAD, May 23: Two sub-committees the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Deregulation have presented their recommendations to remove various irritants being faced by the business community.

Proposals relating to reduction in contributions to self- assessment scheme and no inspection by the EOBI for two years, no questions asked about previous years, amnesty scheme for new organizations, and inspections by gazetted officers only, were recommended.

Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz chaired the third meeting of the committee on deregulation here on Thursday.

According to an official announcement, chairpersons of two of the eight sub-committees of the Inter-Ministerial Commitee on Deregulation presented their recommendations during the meeting.

The sub-committee on CBR related issues and taxpayers’ problems, headed by the secretary general finance, comprised stakeholders from the business community and higher officials of the CBR.

The sub-committee identified 25 key ares that needed immediate attention and recommended necessary remedial actions. Irritants included delays in refunds/drawbacks, audit procedures, lack of effective customs evaluation systems, arbitrariness in income tax assessments, clearance systems for import cargo, reopening of export consignments, variations is import valuations and disparity in legal interpretations. The sub-committee suggested ways to remove these operational irritants.

The sub-committee on labour issues and levies, headed by Labour Minister Owais Ghani, put forth various recommendations to streamline the working of Employees Old Age Benefits Institution and the Provincial Social Security Scheme.

The remaining six sub-committees of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Deregulation would present their findings before the end of this month, which after the President’ approval would be announced by the finance minister in his budget speech in June.