The Pakistan Chemicals & Dyes Association (PCDMA) has called on the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to reduce compliance burdens, cut the General Sales Tax (GST) rate from 18% to 16%, and restore protections for importers in its pre-budget proposals for the 2026-27 budget. Chairman Salim Valimuhammad emphasized that rising compliance demands are pushing taxpayers into the informal economy and urged the FBR to adopt a more supportive approach rather than issuing harsh notices.

Key recommendations include lowering the GST rate, restoring the Final Tax Regime for commercial importers, and reintroducing audit exemptions linked to additional sales tax payments. PCDMA also suggested restoring Section 8B facilities for better liquidity and adjusting output tax against input tax to ease cash flow.

To combat fake invoicing, the association proposed reducing the tax rate from 4% to 1%. For income tax, they suggested lowering withholding tax rates on local raw material supplies. PCDMA opposed unequal tax treatment under Section 148, advocating for uniform taxation on identical imports.

Additionally, the chairman called for abolishing the Rs500 WeBOC token fee and restoring NTN-based self-clearance for importers. The association recommended discontinuing the Export Facilitation Scheme due to its potential for misuse and instead urged improvements to the tax refund system for genuine exporters. These proposals are set to be discussed in upcoming pre-budget consultations.