ISLAMABAD: The real estate builders and developers on Monday urged Finance Minister Ishaq Dar to unveil a comprehensive package in the coming budget to attract foreign investment and strict measures to get rid of cartels.

A delegation of the Association of Builders and Developers of Pakistan (ABAD) during its meeting with the finance minister also presented its proposals for the budget 2023-24.

Special Assistant on Revenue Tariq Pasha, Reforms and Resource Mobilisation Commission (RRMC) Ashfaq Tola, FBR chairman Asim Ahmed and senior officers attended the meeting.

A source privy to the meeting told Dawn that the association called for removing regulatory duty on iron and tiles in the upcoming budget. It stressed that elimination this duty would result in a significant drop of around Rs25,000 per tonne in steel prices with a corresponding decrease in tile prices.

In the meeting, as per the source, the association also highlighted the concern of cartelisation, particularly in the cement, iron, and tiles industries. The minister reassured the delegation that the vacant positions in the Competition Commission of Pakistan would be filled shortly to address these complaints and other related matters.

One of the major demands of the association was to announce an incentive for overseas Pakistan to send their dollar money through banking channels for investments in the realty sector.

According to the source, the finance minister agreed to consider a proposal in the upcoming budget for overseas Pakistan. There is an allocation of 25pc in every real estate sector for overseas Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2023