GUJRAT: Twenty-two electric fan manufacturers of Gujrat will be registered in the sales tax filers list after negotiations between the Pakistan Electric Fan Manufacturers Association (Pefma) and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) whereas around a dozen companies, already registered as the sales tax filers, will also enhance the tax ratio as per their production.

The FBR and Pefma officials held at least three rounds of discussions during the last few weeks after the FBR demanded the industry increase the ratio of sales tax as well as the number of filers, warning that it would conduct raids on the industrial units for the scrutiny of their records.

A Gujrat-based fan maker, privy to the negotiations, said the FBR had provided a list of at least 22 fan manufacturers that should be sales tax filers due to their sizable business. He said Pefma had held discussions with its members to convince those, identified by the FBR, to register in the sales tax net and some of them had now agreed to file sales tax and rest of them were being persuaded with a warning of raids by the FBR

Another source, who attended the rounds of negotiations, said the target figure disclosed by the FBR officials for the tax collection from Gujrat-based industry of electric fans, pottery and furniture was far higher than the amount already being deposited as tax. He said sales tax actually applied on the end consumer but the fan dealers across the country were not ready to accept sale invoices from the manufacturers due to which the manufacturers had to bear the sales tax as an extra burden. That’s why the manufacturers were reluctant to register in the sales tax net, he said, adding the authorities must rectify the flaws in the system or bring the trader into the sales tax net.

An FBR official told Dawn the electric fan industry was a small and medium scale sector and its assessment had never been a very tough task. However, he added, it was the furniture industry of Gujrat that had always been found evading taxes despite the huge profits.

Conference: A two-day ‘First International Conference on Contemporary Pakistan’ ended at the Hafiz Hayat Campus of the University of Gujrat (UoG) on Friday.

The conference was aimed at finding sustainable solution to Pakistan’s problems in the current international scenario. UoG Vice Chancellor Prof Ziaul Qayyun chaired the event.

Among the guest speakers were world-renowned historian Dr Mathew Nelson, Dr Amjad Abbas Khan, Dr Rashid Ahmad Khan, Samar Iqbal Babar, Adila Bahar, Dr Iram Khalid, Adil Nizam and Zulqarnain Nizami.

They discussed the role of civil society in country’s development, India’s water politics, ISIS threat to Pakistan, National Action Plan, governance in big cities, Chabahar importance, the role and importance of foreign policy and role of parliament in implementation of Islamic laws.

The topic of the opening session was the Parliamentary Democracy and Electoral Politics.

Prof Dr Zia said in his opening address that Pakistan was beset with a host of external and internal problems which were adversely affecting our regional politics.

Dr Nelson said that law making was the responsibility of parliament in a parliamentary democracy.

Dr Abbas Khan said that political parties in Pakistan had not yet come of age. “Our political parties have failed to find solution to problems of the common people,” he said.

Dr Rashid Khan said “we have still not been able to develop a sound foreign policy due to ‘political instability’ in Pakistan.”

Dr Mushtaq said a constructive dialogue on hosts of subjects among different departments of intellect could turn out to be an important step towards a permanent solution to problems being faced by the country.

The second session of the conference was presided over by Dr Mathew Nelson.

Dr Rashid Ahmad Khan, Dr Maqsood Hasan Noori, Usman Ghani and Dr Ghazal Khwaja discussed Pakistan’s as well as US foreign policy in the Middle East and its effects on Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2016