Overview
- Industry leaders, who met Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Tuesday, tabled budget proposals to cut taxes, lower energy prices, and speed refunds.
- The Commerce Ministry’s submission put exporters’ effective tax load at 68.27 percent, and associations sought a 1 percent final tax option or a choice with the normal regime, a 20 percent corporate rate, and removal of super, advance, and minimum turnover taxes.
- Executives said 35 to 40 percent of working capital is stuck in unpaid refunds, with claims pegged at over Rs327 billion, and they urged automated processing within 72 hours and immediate clearance.
- The sector cited high power and gas prices as a core handicap and proposed a uniform electricity tariff of 8 cents per kWh, a gas price of $7 per MMBtu for industry and captive use, and the removal of surcharges to protect jobs and orders.
- Aurangzeb reaffirmed year‑round consultations through the Tax Policy Office and asked mills to cooperate with digital monitoring like systems used in sugar, cement, beverages, and tobacco, while requests to restore the Export Facilitation Scheme and revive DLTL incentives remain under review with no decisions announced.