Solar panels: Pakistan govt mulling withdrawing ST exemption
FBR Chairman was responding to a query of a member of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance during meeting held at the Parliament House.
He stated that the FBR is working on proposals to withdraw all kinds of tax exemption including exemption available on the import of solar panels.
Cabinet halts additional tax on solar power users
Meanwhile, during another meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance, the representatives of Refineries briefed the committee that their input was taxed, but on output, there was no GST, causing problems over the last several years. Without resolving this issue, they would not be able to invest $6 billion.
The Chairman FBR, Rashid Mahmood Langrial, said that their business came out of the ambit of the Value Added Tax (VAT) when there was no tax on their output. He said that there were proposals under consideration to impose sales tax on their output or provide them some kind of other permanent solutions.
Chairman FBR has also assured the committee that he will inquire into the matter of recovering over Rs 80 million amounts from KababJee restaurant Karachi.
Member of committee Mirza Ikhtiar Baig raised the issue before the finance committee chaired by Nafeesa Shah.
He informed that FBR has recovered more than Rs 80 million from accounts of this restaurant without giving any chance of hearing in different forums. He has no money to pay salaried and owner of the restaurant has threatened to commit suicide. The business community is pressing me for this harassment by the FBR, Baig added.
The FBR Chairman replied that I did not have knowledge of this particular case. I will update the committee after inquiring about the matter from the relevant field office of FBR.
The committee considered 'The Income Tax (Second Amendment) Bill, 2025'. The Committee expressed concern over the second proviso of the newly inserted clause (3A). The Secretary Revenue assured the Committee that the concerns of the Hon. Members would be addressed and that the words 'and shall cease to have effect after tax year 2025' would be deleted. Upon the assurance given by the Secretary Revenue, the Committee recommended that the Bill, as amended, may be passed by the Assembly.
The Committee considered Starred Question No. 38, moved by Aliya Kamran, MNA, regarding the imposition of Section 99D of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, and Starred Question No. 40, moved by Sharmila Sahiba Faruqui Hashaam, MNA, regarding the recent policy shift prioritizing digital currencies, without adequately addressing their regulatory deficiencies. After a detailed discussion the Committee decided to defer both agenda items for discussion in the next meeting of the Committee.
The report on the 'non-implementation of minimum wages, as announced by the Federal Government in its departments', a matter raised by Syed Rafiullah, MNA and referred by the Honourable Speaker, was also deferred due to the absence of the mover.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Recorder
18 minutes ago
- Business Recorder
Petrol price up by Rs5.36, HSD's by Rs11.37
ISLAMABAD: The federal government announced a significant hike in petroleum product prices on Tuesday, effective for the fortnight beginning July 16, 2025. This increase will see consumers paying considerably more at the pump. In a statement, Finance Division announced that petrol is set to rise by Rs 5.36 per litre, bringing the new ex-depot price to Rs 272.15 per litre, up from Rs 266.79. High-Speed Diesel (HSD) will see an even steeper increase of Rs 11.37 per litre, raising its price from Rs 272.98 to Rs 284.35 per litre. This follows a previous price adjustment where petrol increased by Rs 8.36 per litre and HSD by Rs 10.39 per litre, primarily attributed to fluctuations in international crude oil prices. Interestingly, the Inland Freight Equalization Margin (IFEM) has been adjusted upward. For petrol, it's now fixed at Rs 8.89 per litre (up from Rs 6.96), and for HSD, it has also been up to Rs 6.04 per litre (from Rs 2.09). The government also kept petroleum levy unchanged on petrol at Rs 75.52 per litre and Rs 74.51 per litre on HSD. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Business Recorder
19 minutes ago
- Business Recorder
Business community stands divided over strike call
ISLAMABAD: The business community on Tuesday agreed to defer the nationwide strike, as a committee to be headed by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Industries and Production Haroon Akhtar Khan would present a workable solution in 30 days to the prime minister and the Cabinet to address their concerns. This was confirmed by Haroon Akhtar Khan as well as Atif Ikram Sheikh, president of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) while talking to Business Recorder, after a meeting called by Federal Minister for Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb of all business chambers and associations for negotiations on their strike. However, Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) President Muhammad Javed Balwani told Business Recorder that a final decision regarding holding or deferring the strike would be announced on Wednesday (today). Govt to meet business community tomorrow, ahead of planned strike, says Aurangzeb Balwani said that the government side stated that these conditions are from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). 'The government linked, all measures we expressed are reservations about, to IMF conditions', he said, adding this leaves us little room to feel hopeful about fulfillment of our demands. The business community were divided over a shutter down strike on coming Saturday (July 19, 2025) against the extraordinary powers of the FBR in the Finance Act 2025 in the aftermath of holding extensive parleys with the four cabinet ministers. The government announced the establishment of a committee to resolve issues within 30 days at the Finance Ministry. 'We will only call off the strike call if the government defers implementation of the Finance Act 2025, including arrest powers under 37A, payment of Rs 200,000 through cash, e-bility, and others in writing,' the Presidents of Lahore and Karachi Chambers announced outside the Q Block (Finance Ministry) building at Pak Secretariat here on Tuesday. However, the FPCCI President Atif Ikram Sheikh along with his team came downstairs of the Q Block after holding three hours parleys with the Finance Minister and his team and announced that the committee was established to resolve all outstanding issues so there would be no strike on July 19. During his media talk, the President of Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industries stated that they would observe strike on July 19 and many other chambers would also observe this strike. They were of the view that till deferment of different clauses of Finance Act 2025 they would not withdraw their announced strike call. 'We will go for strike' said the President of Lahore Chambers of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) outside the Q Block. The government has already enacted Finance Act 2025 after seeking assent of the Parliament and then President of Pakistan and under the IMF program the reversal of steps seems difficult, said the FBR sources. According to Ministry of Finance statement, a high-level meeting was held in Islamabad under the chairmanship of Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb with representatives of Pakistan's business community, chambers of commerce, and traders' associations to discuss concerns related to Section 37A and other provisions introduced under the Finance Act 2025. During the meeting, Minister for Finance assured the business community of the government's full cooperation and transparency, emphasizing that the objective is solely to prevent large-scale tax fraud and there was no intention to harass legitimate and honest businesses. It was decided in the meeting that a committee would be formed under the Chairmanship of Haroon Akhtar Khan, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Industries and Production. The committee will also include Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani, PM's Coordinator on Trade Rana Ehsan Afzal Khan, FBR Chairman Rashid Mehmood Langrial, and representatives nominated by the business community and chambers of commerce. The committee will hold detailed deliberations over the next 30 days and present a consensus-based and workable solution to the Prime Minister and the federal cabinet. The business community openly shared their concerns and suggestions during the meeting, and the government expressed its commitment to take all stakeholders into confidence. It was agreed that every effort would be made to address traders' concerns related to transactions and to avoid causing any difficulties for the business community. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Business Recorder
19 minutes ago
- Business Recorder
Various LEAs: FBR extends anti-smuggling powers up to June 30 2026
ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has extended anti-smuggling powers of various law enforcement agencies (LEAs) up to June 30, 2026. In this regard, the FBR has issued four notifications here on Tuesday. The FBR has empowered the Frontier Corps Balochistan (North/South), Anti-smuggling initiative: FBR extends LEAs' powers up to June 30, 2025 Pakistan Rangers, Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA), and Pakistan Coast Guards (PCG) to actively combat smuggling. However, these LEAs will work in collaboration with officials from Pakistan Customs to effectively eliminate smuggling activities within the country. The FBR has amended several notifications outlining the guidelines and limitations associated with the delegation of powers. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
