Karachi : Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s ruling group Businessmen Panel Secretary General and former Vice President FPCCI Khurram Ejaz has revealed that despite the business community across the country paying billions of rupees in taxes and infrastructure cess for Karachi, the port city’s infrastructure remains in shambles and cannot withstand even a single day of rainfall, he said that whether an importer or exporter belongs to Faisalabad, Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, Quetta or interior Sindh, they contribute billions towards Karachi’s infrastructure through taxes, yet due to the deteriorated conditions of roads, port routes and drainage systems, the business community suffers heavy losses, he highlighted that during the recent rains, traffic congestion paralyzed the entire logistics chain as thousands of vehicles were stranded, forcing importers, exporters and transporters to bear massive financial losses in the form of demurrages and late payments, according to FBR data Sindh Government collected Rs 160 billion under infrastructure cess in fiscal year 2024-25 which amounts to Rs 800 billion in five years, in addition to billions collected under motor vehicle tax by Sindh Excise and municipal taxes by KMC, but despite this Karachi’s infrastructure collapsed within a single day of rain, Khurram Ejaz said this cess is automatically collected through customs’ computerized system without any effort or cost to the Sindh Government and goes directly to the provincial exchequer on a daily basis, the annual Rs 160 billion collection means an average of Rs 13.33 billion per month, Rs 4.38 billion per day on a yearly basis and Rs 5.33 billion per day on working days, meaning nearly half a billion rupees daily income flows to Sindh Government effortlessly, yet Karachi’s infrastructure cannot survive one spell of rain, he demanded that a significant and fixed portion of this cess must be allocated specifically to Karachi Port, adjoining roads and drainage systems while the rest may be used for other provincial projects but only for infrastructure development, he further demanded that an annual report must be published clearly showing the collections and expenditures, Khurram Ejaz emphasized that the business community is not asking for exemptions or concessions but only demands that the revenues collected in the name of infrastructure should actually be spent on infrastructure so that Pakistan’s trade and economy can operate smoothly.
