20000101

FPCCI condemns

pre-arrest notice

to S M Muneer

RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: A meeting of the FPCCI managing committee members and life members has strongly condemned the issuance of pre-arrest notice to S M Muneer, former FPCCI president and chairman of Din Group of Companies, by the Sales Tax Collectorate, Multan in gross violation of rules and regulations.

A press release issued by the FPCCI on Friday, it said that the meeting held under the chairmanship of Maqsood Ismail, vice-president, FPCCI at the Federation House noted that the collectorate had issued similar notices to over 50 companies, which seemed to be part of a conspiracy to harass the business community and to spoil the relations between the government and the business community.

The meeting noted that if such notices could be issued to harass a prominent businessman, then one could imagine the harassment to small businessmen at the hands of the sales tax staff.

The meeting felt that the issuance of notice without meeting the pre-requisites of rules and regulations and on the basis of some misunderstanding and its subsequent withdrawal, clearly showed that the affairs of the sales tax department were utterly mismanaged.

The meeting demanded thorough investigation into the affairs of the sales tax department and the ulterior motives behind the moves to harass the business community. The Chief Executive and the Finance Minister must take a serious view of the incident, the press release said.