KARACHI: The industry has rejected the extension of legal protection to the Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC).

The National Assembly Standing Committee recently approved the amended GIDC Bill 2014, to give legal cover to Rs95 billion revenue collection tool.

Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) President Mian Muhammad Adrees has taken up the issue with Commerce Minister Khurram Dastagir Khan.

He said that the GIDC would prove to be the last nail in the coffin because the industry is already over-burdened with numerous taxes and levies and ever-rising cost of doing business, along with power and gas outages which have almost crippled the industry.

S.M. Tanveer, chairman, All-Pakistan Textile Mills Association, said that the GIDC had been rejected by the industry when it was introduced in the budget 2014-2015.

Pakistan Tanners Association (PTA) chairman Hamid A. Zahoor said, in a statement, that the industry has already been over-burdened. He urged the government to broaden the tax net.

Published in Dawn, February 27th, 2015

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