PESHAWAR: Industrialists here have accused the Federal Board of Revenue of harassing taxpayers in Peshawar and announced to observe strike and block the Hayatabad Industrial Estate Road on Wednesday (today) to register their protest against the board’s actions.

Speaking at a press conference at Peshawar Press Club on Tuesday, Hayatabad Industrial Estate Association, Peshawar, president Ghazanfar Bilour said that a team of the FBR Directorate of Intelligence and Investigation (I&I) Inland Revenue (IR), Peshawar, carried out raids on different factories a couple of days ago, took entire record of the companies in custody and harassed the staff.

Flanked by the association’s former president, Malik Niaz, Tariq Rana and factory owners and traders, Mr Bilour said that the FBR team raided the premises of MKB Pharmaceutical private limited, took away the record illegally and used rough language against the business community.

“We will not sit silent on the illegal raid and will start a protest campaign against FBR for harassing taxpayers,” he said and added that the first protest would be lodged with the federal government on Wednesday (today) by closing the Hayatabad Industrial Estate Road.

Will block road in protest against raids

He said that the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry and all member groups of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chamber of Commerce and Industry had also agreed to join hands against FBR.

Mr Bilour said that the FBR officials had conducted illegal raid on a factory owned by Malik Niaz and being president of the industrial estate he came to resolve the issue, but he was also implicated in a ‘fake’ case.

He said that their demands included an end to FBR raids, return of official record of different factories and provision of incentives to the taxpayers. “We have neither made anyone hostage nor intimidated the staff of FBR and all the allegations in this regard are baseless,” Mr Bilour clarified.

He alleged that the FBR deputy director and his team harassed the factory owners and took away all computerised record and confidential documents of the company.

He said that they had protested against the alleged breaking of the main gate of Pharmaceutical private limited and harassment of factory owners.

Mr Bilour said that later an FIR was registered against him and former president of the industrial estate, Malik Niaz.

“We have regularly paid various taxes, including sales, income and professional tax, excise duty, infrastructure development cess, EOBI and others,” Mr Bilour said and added that it was wrong and illogical to intimidate and harass the law-abiding factory owners.

He said that the business community was adversely affected due to the prolonged terrorism in the province. He said that it was duty of the federal government to extend incentives to mitigate sufferings of the terrorism-hit industries in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa rather than further pushing them into a crisis situation.

Mr Bilour said that a conspiracy was being hatched to keep the Pakhtuns economically backward. He alleged that national institutions like FBR didn’t allow the business community to contribute their share in the economy. He threatened to launch a protest movement in consultation with all the chambers of commerce and industries and association of industrial estates across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Published in Dawn, February 22nd, 2017