Sales Professionals Forum is arranging discussions all over Pakistan in an effort to solve the CNIC registration issue plaguing the whole business community.
The initiative is to bring the business community and FBR on the same page regarding the structural problems and reach a conclusive solution that will help businesses minimize losses and transition smoothly.
Karachi, September 17, 2019: Sales Professionals Forum has taken the initiative to bring traders, retailers, distributors, and the sales community across Pakistan together to solve the issue of CNIC and registration currently impacting the business community in Pakistan.
The platform is arranging open discussions with the tax advisory committee and FBR representatives to ensure open communication and create a platform where everyone can share their point of view.
According to the new laws regarding sales and taxation announced in the 2019-2020 budget, distributors are responsible for ensuring the documentation of CNIC numbers of the retailers on invoices issued. Any invoice with the wrong identification is immediately rejected by the FBR portal. This has led to losses for businesses and plunged the sales community into chaos.
The first discussion kicked off in Karachi on 5th September 2019 and was attended by a large corporate body, including CEOs general managers, directors, sales and distribution heads (the full list is given below). The event had equal representation of traders, retailers and an FBR representative was also present to listen to the suggestions, and provide his own insights.
The challenges were discussed in depth and each member put across his own perspective on the issue and how it was impacting businesses and economy alike. The end was marked with a round of hard-hitting questions and suggestions for reaching a healthy and timely solution.
The discussion succeeded in creating an open dialogue and bringing everyone on the same page regarding the myriad problems and the possibility of solutions that will ensure a smooth transition for the whole community.
Here’s what founder of Sales Professionals Forum and the Marketing and Sales Head of Parazelsus, Muhammad Asif Khushnood had to say about everything, “there is a negative narrative doing the rounds that shopkeepers are trying to evade tax and registration while distributors are showing incompetence.
This isn’t true. Distributors and retailers have welcomed the documentation initiative by the government and are only asking for a timely, structured process. Right now the biggest problem the shopkeepers are facing is lack of transparency. Here’s the problem. Once you provide your CNIC, the record trail isn’t available to you. This means there is no visibility or assurance for shopkeepers regarding their identification documents.
Add to that, the distribution body charged with looking after the registration simply doesn’t have the resources or structure to run this process smoothly. Business volumes and coverage has been hit and we badly need a solution. And that is only possible if FBR is at the same page as the rest of the business community, listening to our voices and providing some technical support.”
After the closing of the event in Karachi, SPF is now conducting several more talks all over Pakistan, including Lahore, Islamabad and other cities to create awareness, visibility and ensure the whole business community in Pakistan participates to reach a reasonable conclusion can be reached.
List of all the important personalities that attended the discussion:
