PESHAWAR/SWAT: Business community has announced full support to a call for a countrywide shutter-down strike on July 19 against the imposition of `massive` new taxes through the Finance Act 2025-26.

Speaking at a joint press conference at Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, members of the business community warned that the strike would be changed into a prolonged agitation if the demands were not met.

Chamber president Fazal Mogeem Khan, along with senior vice president Abdul Jalil Jan and members of the SCCPs executive committee at the Chamber Househere, rejected the `alarming` provisions of the Finance Act, which came into force on July 1, 2025, said in the prevailing situation, the business community had been left with no option but to take even more drastic steps, including suspending the filing of sales tax and income tax returns.

He noted that those sentiments were increasingly echoed by SCCI`s members, who had lost faith in the prevailing economic environment due to the government`s oppressive policies.

Fazal voiced solidarity with the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which identified 30 `harsh tax and customs measures` as a serious threat to the survival of businesses across the country.

He emphasised that the SCCI stood shoulder to shoulder with all business organisations demanding the immediate reversal of these unjust laws.

The SCCI leader said the introduction of Sections 37A and 37B of the Income Tax Ordinance was a draconian and unprecedented move.`The Finance Act also has an amendment introduced through Section 21(s), which effectively disallows any cash transaction amounting to Rs200,000 or more for tax deduction purposes. This means that if a customer pays a supplier in cash, even by depositing cash directly into the supplier`s account, the supplier could be penalised by losing 50 per cent of the expense in tax calculations,` he noted.

The SCCI chief voiced serious reservations about the mandatory implementation of e-bilty and digital invoicing systems for all sales tax-registered entities.

He criticised the FBR for attempting to enforce complex digital systems in a country where general and computer literacy remains significantly low.

`Why are taxpayers being forced to perform the FBR`s duties at their own expense? This will only widen the gap between the business community and tax authorities,` he said.

Fazal said businessmen should be encouraged to focus on productivityandrevenue generationratherthan bureaucratic red tape that stifled operations andincreased costs.

The SCCI chief also nayed the government`s complete disregard for the established consultative process traditionally followed before the passage of the Finance Bill.

He said historically, the Business Anomaly Committee engaged with stakeholders and the FBR in a series of meetings to address anomalies and formulate mutually agreedupon recommendations.

`These discussions are held with the participation of Member Inland Revenue, Member Customs, and eventually the Finance Minister and Chairman FBR.

The SCCI president said this year, the process was unilaterally bypassed for the first time, leaving no room for dialogue or consensus.

He added that in protest, several committee members resigned and walked out.

`Despite vocal objections from the business community and the parliamentary standing commit-tees, the Finance Bill was rushed through the house,` he said.

Fazal urged the prime minister to immediately withdraw sections 37A and 37B, the Rs200,000 cash transaction penalty under Section 21(s), the digital invoicing requirement under SRO 709, and the mandatory e-bilty provision under Section 40(c).

`Section 8B of the Sales Tax Act, which also grants discretionary powers to the FBR commissioner to disallow complete input tax adjustment, is completely unacceptable,` he said.

Meanwhile, the Swat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) on Monday decided to launch an antitax movement to unite all political parties of Malakand Division, trader federations, business associations, chambers, lawyers, journalists and people from other walks of life on a single platform to initiate a public movement.

The decision was made during a SCCI meeting held in Swat under the chairmanship of president Noor Mohammad Khan.

The session included a detaileddiscussion on the imposition of a 10pc sales tax and the resulting public reaction. The participants stressed that while the government was taking steps to restore Fata, the former status of the Provincially Administered Tribal Areas should also be reinstated.

The participants said there was a severe lack of employment opportunities in Malakand Division, while the residents had long suffered due to natural disasters and conflicts.

They added that if the government couldn`t provide employment to youth, it must not impose taxes.

The participants also complained about the demolition of public property in the recent anti-encroachment operations and said the administration used the crackdown to cover up their inefficiency and negligence. They demanded immediate relieffor the affectedindividuals.

The participants formed a committee to consider selling the land previously purchased for the Swat Chamber of Commerce and Industry and acquiring more suitable land.