KARACHI, May 17: Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali is expected to announce an export-oriented package for the businessmen on May 27 here.

“The package would contain various incentives aimed at fostering both value and quantity of exports,” President Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), Riaz Ahmed Tata told Dawn on Saturday.

“I was actually informed by Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar a few days back that the prime minister would announce the package in the last week of this month,” the FPCCI chief said without highlighting any further details about the specific incentives in the export package.

“Nevertheless, we are now very hopeful that this package will be comprehensive one and will remove all the irritants which had been debated and identified as main hurdles in the way of increasing the exports,” Tata said.

He said that ministers for finance, commerce and industries had also identified areas such as excessive inspections by different agencies, cumbersome tax laws and delays in sales tax refunds.

He urged the prime minister that while announcing the export package — all the barriers confronted by exporters should be dismantled and removed. He said that Pakistan is member of World Trade Organization (WTO) and as such it would have to compete with other members of the WTO.

Tata said this demanding situation to face the challenges for capitalizing the opportunities requires complete rewriting of tax laws, decreasing the regulatory framework, doing away with provincial and federal agencies. “If we have to respond in the political economy of the world trading system, we must be given the rules and business governance system which could match with the other partners of the WTO,” he said.

He said that the FPCCI has already given suggestions on the required amendments and tax laws and suggested changes in the tariff besides urging changes in the federal tax ombudsman ordinance for increasing the trust and confidence of the tax payers.

He hoped that the FPCCI’s demands may have found say in the export package, to be announced by the prime minister with the objectives of increasing the exports.

“The quality of the package will decide the capitalization of the country’s resource potential which is definitely much more than $10 billion exports earning,” he said hoping that exports may touch $14-$15 billio n in the next fiscal year if the package removes all hurdles and irritants in the way of exports.

He said Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar has also assured over the positive development in the European Union (EU) for increasing the quota of various categories this year.