ISLAMABAD: Talks between the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and traders’ representatives remained inconclusive on Wednesday night on the implementation of a presidential ordinance giving wide-ranging powers to tax officials to disconnect utility connections of non-filers.

While ending its protest that continued in front of the FBR headquarters, the All Pakistan Anjuman-i-Tajiran (APAT) announced that they would hold a sit-in at Faizabad on Oct 19.

Earlier in the day, hundreds of traders rallied in the federal capital and staged a sit-in in front of the FBR headquarters against the promulgation of the presidential ordinance and called upon the government to scrap new tax laws.

APAT announces sit-in for Oct 19

The FBR had on Sunday struck an agreement with another faction of traders led by Kashif Chaudhry, president of the Markazi Tanzeem Tajiran Pakistan, that small traders would not be deprived of electricity and gas supplies and mobile phone services on the application of new tax laws introduced through the presidential ordinance.

However, APAT led by its president Ajmal Baloch did not accept that agreement. After the daylong speeches by APAT leaders, the FBR officials invited Mr Baloch and his colleagues for a dialogue. The negotiations started at 8pm and ended at around midnight, without any agreement.

Mr Baloch told Dawn that talk remained inconclusive on the grounds that the FBR officials did not have the mandate to listen to their queries.

Published in Dawn, September 30th, 2021