A consultative meeting was held at the Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) to address the ongoing flour crisis and the withholding tax deadlock between the Flour Mills Association and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
Participants, including representatives from the Flour Mills and RCCI leadership, expressed serious concerns about the newly imposed 5.5% withholding tax on flour mills and the additional 2.5% taxes on flour sales to wholesalers and retailers. They feared that these taxes would significantly increase the cost of flour by approximately Rs8-10 per kilogram.
The attendees demanded that the government withdraw the newly imposed withholding tax (WHT) and cease requiring mills to act as agents of the FBR to collect WHT from their clients, including flour wholesalers and retailers.
The meeting was attended by President RCCI Saqib Rafiq, group leader Sohail Altaf, former chairman of the Flour Mills Association Riazullah Khan, Tariq Sethi, Khawaja Imran, Chaudhry Afzal, former presidents Asad Mashhaddi and Kashif Shabbir, executive committee members, and representatives of the Anjuman Tajran.
Following the meeting, President Saqib Rafiq, along with representatives of the Flour Mills Association, briefed the media in a press conference. He stated that the Rawalpindi Chamber has consistently addressed critical issues such as electricity bills and the budget. He emphasized that the RCCI platform is available to help resolve the dispute between the Flour Mills Association and the FBR.
Group leader Sohail Altaf urged the government to engage in constructive talks with the flour mills, highlighting the business community’s concerns following the budget. He stated that the Rawalpindi Chamber is ready to play a role in resolving the flour crisis.
Former Chairman of the Flour Mills Association Riazullah Khan mentioned that flour mills have been on strike for three days, protesting the unnecessary taxation and refusing to act as withholding agents. He assured that the Rawalpindi Chamber supports the flour mills and warned that conducting business would become impossible without the withdrawal of these taxes.
Kashif Shabbir added that they would not act as withholding agents for the FBR and criticized the lack of stakeholder consultation in imposing such irrational taxes.
