LAHORE – The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry has expressed reservations over key proposals in the Federal Budget 2025-26.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday, LCCI President Mian Abuzar Shad and other office bearers expressed grave concerns over giving sweeping powers to the Federal Board of Revenue, including the authority to arrest traders without a court warrant.
Abuzar Shad said that the business community should not be sacrificed to cover up the failures of the bureaucracy. He said that every single day, around four billion rupees are lost to speed money, a reflection of deeply rooted corruption within the system. He held the bureaucracy responsible for the collapse of state-owned enterprises, saying that these losses are consistently compensated from the hard-earned taxes paid by the business community.
He raised the question that who will investigate the Rs 80 billion over-invoicing in the import of solar panels and the Rs 565 billion refund scam. He further highlighted an outrageous incident in Lahore where FBR officers allegedly drew weapons on each other during a confrontation over bribes, questioning whether any action had been taken in response.
Mian Abuzar Shad said that over Rs 8,000 billion are being spent on debt servicing, yet no one is being held accountable for who took these loans. He demanded an immediate audit of such financial obligations. He said that Pakistan has suffered losses of Rs 24,000 billion in capacity payments to IPPs and Rs 25,000 billion due to under-invoicing and smuggling. He demanded to know why no one had been held responsible for these gigantic losses and why bureaucrats and policymakers remain beyond accountability.
LCCI Senior Vice President Engineer Khalid Usman and Vice President Shahid Nazir Chaudhry said that due to these flawed policies and rising uncertainty, Pakistan is witnessing dangerous levels of capital flight. Investors are moving their capital abroad because of the unpredictable environment created by inconsistent government policies and unchecked bureaucratic overreach.
Former LCCI President Mian Anjum Nisar warned that giving such powers to the FBR will only increase bribery, harassment and mistrust between the state and the business community. He urged the government to come to its senses and not create more hurdles for business owners who are already struggling under inflation and high costs of doing business. Instead of targeting businesses, he said, the government should focus on plugging leakages in its revenue and resource mechanisms.
Former President Muhammad Ali Mian opposed proposals that include freezing bank accounts of unregistered individuals, banning them from purchasing property and giving FBR authority to withdraw money from accounts.
