Traders end strike after successful negotiation with govt.

ISLAMABAD -- A protracted deadlock between the government and traders came to an end on Wednesday after both sides reached an 11-point agreement pertaining to the tax conditions imposed by the federal government in the budget. Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, flanked by Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Shabbar Zaidi and PTI stalwart Jahangir Tareen, announced the agreement at a press conference in the federal capital. On Tuesday, the traders observed a shutter-down strike throughout the country to protest measures designed to document their transactions and presenting a CNIC copy for buying and selling goods up to Rs50,000. During the presser, the finance adviser announced that the government would not take any action regarding the violation of the CNIC condition till Jan 31, 2020; the clause for the submission of the identity card, however, will remain in place.

'Traders with an annual turnover of Rs100 million would have to pay Rs0.5 per cent of the turnover instead of 1.5pc and that the same traders would not become withholding agents,' the agreement...