By Mustafa Ali
ISLAMABAD: The business community and officials from relevant ministries slammed the Federal Board of Revenue and the FIA on Monday for their undue harassment of investors.Special Assistant Haroon Akhtar Khan chaired the meeting of the committee meeting constituted by the prime minister, to prevent undue interference by state functionaries.During the meeting, the business community raised concerns regarding unnecessary interference by the FBR, FIA and the provincial departments.Representatives from mainstream trade chambers and officials from commerce, industry, production, and finance ministries attended the meeting.The participants were also concerned about the lack of Business Facilitation Centres and one-window operations nationwide.The special assistant cautioned that undue interference by state authorities could negatively impact investment and economic growth.The business community demanded digitisation of the relevant process to reduce human interactions and eradicate the discretionary powers enjoyed by the officials.Mr Khan highlighted that the prime minister envisions state institutions playing a key role in providing facilitation, ensuring the protection and support of industrialists, and boosting business confidence.Incidentally, when the officers of the FBR were asked to respond to the complaints against them, they highlighted that FBR reforms were underway and a digital complaint mechanism was being established.On the other hand, the officials of the FIA were informed about their roles and responsibilities under the law.However, Mr Khan stated that the ground realities were different, and complaints were received regularly about the undue interferences in business matters.
