PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KPCCI) on Thursday urged the federal government to remove one per cent infrastructure development cess (IDC) in Sindh on imported items transported via Karachi to Peshawar in order to enable business community of the violence-hit areas to revive their routine activities.

A KPCCI delegation, led by its acting president Emad Rasheed, met with Excise and Taxation Director General Nasir Khan and informed him that business community could not afford to pay double taxation on consignments.

Mr Rasheed said the provincial government under its industrial policy had announced Rs5 billion incentives for industrialists but then imposed one percent infrastructure development cess to collect Rs700 million taxes annually.

He said that in case imposition of the 1pc cess was essential in KP, then it should be stopped in Sindh.

He feared the imposition of 1pc cess would badly affect the trade activities in KP.

The DG Excise assured the delegation that he would convey KPCCI’s reservations to the provincial government. He said KP Chief Minister Pervez Khattak had already written a letter to Finance Minister Ishaq Dar to seek his help on the issue of collection of 1pc cess in Sindh.

Published in Dawn, July 22nd, 2016