KARACHI: Industrialists and exporters have welcomed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s recently announced relief package, terming it a timely intervention to ease cost pressures on businesses, even as foreign investors expressed concern over the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) issuance of super tax demand notices with a payment deadline of January 30, 2026.
The prime minister announced a reduction of Rs4.04 per unit in electricity tariffs, wheeling charges of less than Rs9 per kilowatt-hour for industry, a cut in the export refinance scheme rate to 4.5 percent from 7.5pc, and the issuance of “blue passports” to leading exporters for two years.
Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI) Secretary General and CEO M. Abdul Aleem urged the FBR to allow sufficient time for compliance, citing the immediate financial and administrative impact of the demands following the Federal Constitutional Court’s ruling upholding the super tax. He proposed that super tax demands be adjusted against pending tax refunds, with only the remaining balance, if any, recovered from taxpayers.
Welcoming the relief package, Mr Aleem described the measures as a bold step taken despite fiscal constraints. Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association leaders Muhammad Babar Khan, Abdul Hameed and Faisal Arshad Sheikh stressed the need for swift implementation and continued stakeholder consultation, noting that lower energy and financing costs would significantly support export-oriented industries.
Korangi Association of Trade and Industry President Muhammad Ikram Rajput said the package would reduce production costs, stimulate industrial activity and boost exports, contributing to overall economic recovery.
Story by Aamir Shafaat Khan
