Peshawar: Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) and Regional Tax Office (RTO), Peshawar, have decided to constitute a joint committee to address grievances and problems of the tobacco growers and dealers of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The proposed five-member committee, consisting of representatives from SCCI and the tobacco growers/dealers association, will work jointly to address issues with mutual consultation.
The decision was made during a meeting of a delegation of tobacco growers and dealers headed by acting president of the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Muhammad Nadeem, with Chief Commissioner, Regional Tax Office Peshawar, Muhammad Taqi Qureshi, here at RTO on Wednesday.
The Tobacco growers/dealers association president, Iftikhar Ahmad, Dr Taimur Ahmad Khan, Haji Bakh Sher, Haji Abad Khan, Mian Iftikhar ud Din, Hazrat Ali and Imtiaz Khan and others were among the delegation.
Muhammad Nadeem in his opening remarks took up issues and concerns of tobacco growers and dealers on imposition of heavy/multiple taxes, harassment through various pretexts and allied issues.
The SCCI urged the FBR to address genuine grievances of the tobacco growers and dealers, because this sector has generated massive employment and key source of livelihoods for many families. Importantly, he mentioned that huge revenue through various taxes was collected through this sector.
Therefore, the acting president requested the RTO to take facilitation measures and avoid any such steps.
Chief Commissioner RTO Peshawar, Taqi Qureshi, assured the SCCI delegation to address the genuine concerns of the tobacco growers and dealers.
He formally announced the formation of a five-member joint committee, which would hold regular meetings for early resolve issues early with mutual understanding and consultation.
Iftikhar Ahmad, the Association president, also spoke on the occasion and thanked the Chief Commissioner RTO Peshawar for issuing directives and forming a joint committee to promptly address the genuine concerns and problems of the tobacco growers and dealers.