Reduction in power tariff demanded

The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) has demanded that the government immediately reduce the interest rate to 12%. Electricity price should be reduced to 9 cents per unit for all industries while contracts with the independent power producers (IPPs) should be revisited, it said. FPCCI Regional Chairman and Vice President Zaki Aijaz, while addressing a press conference at the FPCCI Regional Office on Wednesday, underscored that cross-subsidies of Rs240 billion should be eliminated and taxes on the retail sector should be collected at the final stage. He stressed that the concept of non-filers of tax returns should be abolished with stricter conditions for such people. Industries in the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and the Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (Pata) had benefited greatly and should be taxed in a phased manner in the next two to three years, he demanded.