Business community largely welcomes federal budget

RAWALPINDI, Jun 12 (APP): The business community in Rawalpindi has largely welcomed the federal budget 2026-27, while seeking clarity in some economic policies and measures to ease the cost of doing business.

President Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) Usman Shaukat, talking to APP, appreciated the overall direction of the budget, particularly the 7% increase in salaries and pensions.

He also welcomed the removal of Federal Excise Duty (FED) on cancer and other intensive disease related medicines, terming it a positive step for the health sector.

However, he expressed concerns over the absence of a clear export policy and said the budget lacked concrete initiatives to create a business-friendly environment.

Usman further while responding to a question said that continued consultation with business community would further improve the policy framework.

Sohail Altaf, Griup leader and Former President RCCI also appreciated the relief measures, especially tax reductions in the real estate sector. He said the tax on property purchase for filers has been reduced from 2.5% to 1.25%, while the tax on sellers had been cut from 5.5% to 2.75%. He termed the move an encouraging step towards boosting real estate sector.

He further welcomed the exemption of super tax for businesses up to Rs. 0.5 billion and reduction of super tax from 10% to 8% for businesses above this threshold.

Sohail Altaf said that the cost of doing business remained unaddressed, and also highlighted that GST policy needed clarity. He urged parliamentarians to focus on ease of doing business during budget discussions in parliament.

Appreciating fix tax policy, he said that the policy for small traders should be evaluated at the implementation stage, adding that the business community was willing to support the government in expanding the tax net. However he lauded PM Shehbaz Sharif for taking the chambers on board while shaping the economic policies.

Sohail also highlighted that many points highlighted by business community before the Prime Minister were included in the budget.

He stressed that high tax rates, currently ranging between 50% to 60%, were a major hurdle in attracting investment and should be rationalized.

Senior Vice President RCCI Khalid Qazi and Vice President Fahad Barlas also appreciated the positive measures in the budget.

Raja Amir, a Rawalpindi based businessman and former RCCI President pointed out that the reduction in FED could lead to an increase in imports, stressing the need for policies that support exports instead.

The business leaders called for consistent and long-term economic policies to ensure sustainable growth and investor confidence.