{"id":102272,"date":"2025-05-17T11:14:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-17T06:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zameen.com\/news\/?p=102272"},"modified":"2025-05-15T19:20:25","modified_gmt":"2025-05-15T14:20:25","slug":"lcci-urges-relief-for-cement-distributors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zameen.com\/news\/lcci-urges-relief-for-cement-distributors.html","title":{"rendered":"LCCI urges PM to suspend SROs affecting cement distributors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Lahore: The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) President Mian Abuzar Shad has called on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to intervene and order the immediate withdrawal of recently issued statutory regulatory orders (SROs) that have raised serious concerns in the cement distribution sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a letter addressed to the prime minister, Mian Abuzar Shad highlighted the negative implications of SRO 578(I)\/2025 and SRO 709(I)\/2025, following discussions with a delegation from the All Pakistan Cement Distributors Association. The meeting focused on the practical challenges these notifications pose to the sector, particularly regarding compliance and financial viability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zameen.com\/news\/oicci-urges-tax-reforms-in-budget-2025-26.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">OICCI urges comprehensive tax reforms in Budget 2025-26 proposals<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>SRO 578(I)\/2025, issued on April 8, mandates that all cement business transactions must be conducted through bank channels, with detailed buyer information recorded. The LCCI president argued that this requirement is impractical given the current economic conditions, where approximately 40 percent of cement sales involve walk-in customers who typically pay in cash. The high bounce rate of cheques and lack of effective legal recourse further complicate adherence to the order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He added that the remaining 60 percent of sales involve cash recoveries from wholesalers and retailers, especially in rural areas where banking infrastructure is limited. Implementing this SRO, he warned, risks disrupting the documented supply chain and could push compliant businesses towards non-compliance, potentially resulting in closures and financial losses due to input tax disallowances caused by bounced payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zameen.com\/news\/abad-praises-govt-for-scrapping-fed.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ABAD praises govt for scrapping FED, urges more tax reforms<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The second order, SRO 709(I)\/2025, requires system integration with the FBR\u2019s digital platform. Mian Abuzar Shad stressed that this policy overlooks the fact that cement is classified as a third schedule product, already taxed at the maximum retail price during manufacturing. Distributors have minimal influence over downstream documentation and derive no financial benefits from this integration, while the compliance burden remains high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The LCCI president cautioned that these blanket compliance requirements fail to consider the unique nature of the cement industry. Such measures could inadvertently push the formal distribution network into informality, triggering artificial shortages, disrupting construction activities, and negatively impacting national GDP growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mian Abuzar Shad appealed for the immediate suspension of both SROs as they relate to cement distributors, wholesalers, and retailers. He recommended allowing cement manufacturers to sell exclusively to active, tax-registered buyers to maintain proper documentation without disturbing the market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zameen.com\/news\/experts-urge-green-reforms-in-construction-sector.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Experts urge green reforms in Pakistan\u2019s construction sector<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Lahore Chamber expressed full support for the All Pakistan Cement Distributors Association\u2019s concerns and urged the Prime Minister\u2019s personal involvement to direct the FBR to consult with stakeholders. Mian Abuzar Shad also proposed the creation of special provisions for essential commodity supply chains and called for urgent consultations between the Prime Minister\u2019s Office, FBR, and industry representatives to formulate practical and workable solutions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lahore: The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) President Mian Abuzar Shad has called on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to intervene and order the immediate withdrawal of recently issued statutory regulatory orders (SROs) that have raised serious concerns in the cement distribution sector. In a letter addressed to the prime minister, Mian Abuzar Shad highlighted the negative implications of SRO 578(I)\/2025 and SRO 709(I)\/2025, following discussions with a delegation from the All Pakistan Cement Distributors Association. The meeting focused on the practical challenges these notifications pose to the sector, particularly regarding compliance and financial viability. Read: OICCI urges comprehensive tax reforms in Budget 2025-26 proposals SRO 578(I)\/2025, issued on April 8, mandates that all cement business transactions must be conducted through bank channels, with detailed buyer information recorded. The LCCI president argued that this requirement is impractical given the current economic conditions, where approximately 40 percent of cement sales involve walk-in customers who typically pay in cash. The high bounce rate of cheques and lack of effective legal recourse further complicate adherence to the order. He added that the remaining 60 percent of sales involve cash recoveries from wholesalers and retailers, especially in rural areas where banking infrastructure is&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":101115,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15012],"tags":[64763,64761,7325,27497,27776,3362,62620,7057,34475,62177,64760,64762,31455,58217,18312],"persona":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-102272","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-allied-industries","8":"tag-business-regulations","9":"tag-cement-distribution","10":"tag-cement-sector","11":"tag-construction-industry","12":"tag-economic-impact","13":"tag-fbr","14":"tag-lahore-chamber-of-commerce","15":"tag-lcci","16":"tag-pakistan-economy","17":"tag-prime-minister-shehbaz-sharif","18":"tag-sro-578i-2025","19":"tag-sro-709i-2025","20":"tag-tax-compliance","21":"tag-tax-policy","22":"tag-tax-regulations","23":"cat-15012-id"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>LCCI urges relief for cement distributors - Zameen News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Lahore Chamber expressed full support for the All Pakistan Cement Distributors Association\u2019s concerns and urged the Prime Minister\u2019s...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.zameen.com\/news\/lcci-urges-relief-for-cement-distributors.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"LCCI urges relief for cement distributors - Zameen News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Lahore Chamber expressed full support for the All Pakistan Cement Distributors Association\u2019s concerns and urged the Prime Minister\u2019s...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.zameen.com\/news\/lcci-urges-relief-for-cement-distributors.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pakistan Real Estate News &amp; 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