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Arab News
18-06-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Pakistan reduces sales tax on imported solar panels from 18 percent to 10 percent amid parliamentary pushback
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday said the general sales tax (GST) on imported solar panels had been reduced from 18% to 10% for the current year, following concerns raised by a parliamentary finance body. The Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue had urged the government a day earlier to withdraw the proposed 18% GST on imported solar panels, noting that some stakeholders had begun stockpiling equipment ahead of the federal budget to avoid the new levy. The country's proposed federal budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year included an 18% GST on the import and local supply of solar panels and related equipment, prompting concern from industry stakeholders and clean energy advocates. Pakistan imported 17 gigawatts (GW) of solar panels in 2024, twice the volume recorded the year before, to meet rising consumer demand, according to the Global Electricity Review 2025. 'The 18 percent on top of 46% was an additional burden,' Dar told the National Assembly. 'So, regarding this, after consultations and deliberations, we have decided that this year we will keep a 10% sales tax and not 18%.' Dar highlighted how this was the most debated subject after the budget was announced. He also explained that around 46% of components used in solar installations in Pakistan were imported while the remaining 54% including inverters and other equipment were locally sourced and already subject to standard taxation. Solar energy has supplied 25% of Pakistan's grid electricity so far this year, placing the country among fewer than 20 globally that generate at least a quarter of their monthly power from solar farms. Industry stakeholders and clean energy activists had warned that the added cost in tax could slow the rapid adoption of rooftop solar systems by households and businesses, potentially undermining national targets for expanding the share of renewables in the country's energy mix. Pakistan increased its solar electricity generation at a rate more than three times the global average in 2025, driven by a surge in solar capacity imports that were over five times higher than in 2022, according to data from Ember, a UK-based energy think tank. This rapid growth in both capacity and output has propelled solar energy from being the country's fifth-largest power source in 2023 to the top spot in 2025.
Arab News
18-06-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Pakistan cuts sales tax on imported solar panels to 10% amid parliamentary pushback
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday said the general sales tax (GST) on imported solar panels had been reduced from 18% to 10% for the current year, following concerns raised by a parliamentary finance body. The Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue had urged the government a day earlier to withdraw the proposed 18% GST on imported solar panels, noting that some stakeholders had begun stockpiling equipment ahead of the federal budget to avoid the new levy. The country's proposed federal budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year included an 18% GST on the import and local supply of solar panels and related equipment, prompting concern from industry stakeholders and clean energy advocates. Pakistan imported 17 gigawatts (GW) of solar panels in 2024, twice the volume recorded the year before, to meet rising consumer demand, according to the Global Electricity Review 2025. 'The 18 percent on top of 46% was an additional burden,' Dar told the National Assembly. 'So, regarding this, after consultations and deliberations, we have decided that this year we will keep a 10% sales tax and not 18%.' Dar highlighted how this was the most debated subject after the budget was announced. He also explained that around 46% of components used in solar installations in Pakistan were imported while the remaining 54% including inverters and other equipment were locally sourced and already subject to standard taxation. Solar energy has supplied 25% of Pakistan's grid electricity so far this year, placing the country among fewer than 20 globally that generate at least a quarter of their monthly power from solar farms. Industry stakeholders and clean energy activists had warned that the added cost in tax could slow the rapid adoption of rooftop solar systems by households and businesses, potentially undermining national targets for expanding the share of renewables in the country's energy mix. Pakistan increased its solar electricity generation at a rate more than three times the global average in 2025, driven by a surge in solar capacity imports that were over five times higher than in 2022, according to data from Ember, a UK-based energy think tank. This rapid growth in both capacity and output has propelled solar energy from being the country's fifth-largest power source in 2023 to the top spot in 2025.
Arab News
18-06-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Pakistani parliamentary body calls for scrapping 18 percent tax on imported solar panels
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue this week urged the government to withdraw a proposed 18 percent general sales tax (GST) on imported solar panels, saying some stakeholders were stockpiling equipment ahead of the federal budget to avoid the new levy. Under the proposed federal budget for fiscal year 2025–26, the government has included the 18 percent GST on the import and local supply of solar panels and related equipment. The plan has raised concerns among industry players and clean energy advocates who warn that higher costs could slow the rapid uptake of household and commercial rooftop solar systems and undermine national targets for increasing renewable energy's share in Pakistan's power mix. So far this year, solar has provided 25 percent of Pakistan's grid electricity, placing the country among fewer than 20 worldwide that generate at least a quarter of their monthly power from solar farms. Pakistan imported 17 gigawatts (GW) of solar panels in 2024 — double the previous year's volume — to meet surging consumer demand, according to the Global Electricity Review 2025. 'The committee strongly recommended withdrawing the proposed 18 percent GST on solar panels,' the Senate secretariat said in a statement released on Tuesday after the standing committee's fifth session to review the budget for fiscal year 2025–26. 'Members observed that ahead of the budget, certain stakeholders had imported and dumped solar equipment in anticipation of the tax hike.' Senator Saleem Mandviwalla, the chairman of the committee, called the government's move 'discriminatory' in nature. 'The committee rejects the sudden imposition of GST on solar imports and urges immediate withdrawal,' the statement quoted him as saying. Sharmila Faruqui, a member of the National Assembly's finance committee, also echoed the Senate panel's call to scrap the proposed tax. 'I'm in the finance committee and the members have unanimously rejected this tax,' she told Arab News. Pakistan increased its solar electricity generation at a rate more than three times the global average in 2025, driven by a surge in solar capacity imports that were over five times higher than in 2022, according to data from Ember, a UK-based energy think tank. This rapid growth in both capacity and output has propelled solar energy from being the country's fifth-largest power source in 2023 to the top spot in 2025. With inputs from Reuters
Arab News
15-04-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan rank as top solar markets in 2024: report
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has joined the ranks of the world's leading solar markets, importing 17 gigawatts (GW) of solar panels last year alone, according to the Global Electricity Review 2025 by Ember, an energy think tank in the UK. In 2024, for the first time, solar power supplied more than 2,000 TWh of electricity, increasing by 474 TWh (+29 percent) from the previous year. This was the largest increase in generation from any power source in 2024. It took 8 years for solar to go from 100 TWh to 1,000 TWh of power — and then just 3 years to pass 2,000 TWh, meaning that solar has now been the largest source of new electricity globally for three years in a row. Solar is now so cheap that large markets can emerge in the space of a single year – as evidenced in Pakistan in 2024. Amid high electricity prices linked to expensive contracts with privately-owned thermal power stations, rooftop solar installations in Pakistan's homes and businesses soared as a means of accessing lower cost power. 'The country imported 17 GW of solar panels in 2024 to meet this growing consumer demand, double the amount imported the year before,' the Global Electricity Review 2025 said. 'Within just a year, Pakistan became one of the world's largest markets for new solar installations in 2024.' Pakistan's case shows that the low-cost, fast-to-build nature of solar power can transform electricity systems at an unprecedented rate. Updated system planning and regulatory frameworks are needed alongside this deployment to ensure a sustainable and managed transition. In the Middle East, Saudi Arabia imported 16 GW in 2024, more than double the amount imported the year before. Oman saw the largest percentage growth in imports in the region, with 2.5 GW of imports in 2024 representing a fivefold increase from the year before. South Africa imported 3.8 GW of solar panels in 2024, following a record-breaking 2023 when 4.3 GW were imported as consumers turned to the technology amid rising blackouts. Nigeria and Morocco imported 1.3 GW and 1.1 GW respectively, marking the first time that either country has imported more than 1 GW in a single year. The expansion of solar power is a worldwide phenomenon, with 99 countries doubling the amount of electricity they produce from solar power in the last five years. The majority of solar generation now comes from non-OECD countries (58 percent), with China alone making up 39 percent of the global total. Increases in generation have been achieved thanks to the pace of capacity additions, the Global Electricity Review said. The world installed a record 585 gigawatts of solar capacity last year – 30 percent more than in 2023, and more than double the amount installed in 2022. Having surpassed 1 TW of solar power in 2022, it took only two years to install the next 1 TW. 'This is not just unprecedented for solar power – it is a rate of growth that no power source has seen before. In fact, the solar capacity installed in 2024 is more than the annual capacity installations of all fuels combined in any year before 2023,' the Global Electricity Review 2025 report added. As solar's share of the global electricity mix has risen to 6.9 percent of global generation in 2024, some countries are showing it is possible to incorporate much larger amounts. There are now 21 countries that generate more than 15 percent of their electricity from solar power, up from just three countries five years ago.
Arab News
14-04-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia became world's largest markets for new solar installations in 2024 — report
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has joined the ranks of the world's leading solar markets, importing 17 gigawatts (GW) of solar panels last year alone, according to the Global Electricity Review 2025 by Ember, an energy think tank in the UK. In 2024, for the first time, solar power supplied more than 2,000 TWh of electricity, increasing by 474 TWh (+29 percent) from the previous year. This was the largest increase in generation from any power source in 2024. It took 8 years for solar to go from 100 TWh to 1,000 TWh of power — and then just 3 years to pass 2,000 TWh, meaning that solar has now been the largest source of new electricity globally for three years in a row. Solar is now so cheap that large markets can emerge in the space of a single year – as evidenced in Pakistan in 2024. Amid high electricity prices linked to expensive contracts with privately-owned thermal power stations, rooftop solar installations in Pakistan's homes and businesses soared as a means of accessing lower cost power. 'The country imported 17 GW of solar panels in 2024 to meet this growing consumer demand, double the amount imported the year before,' the Global Electricity Review 2025 said. 'Within just a year, Pakistan became one of the world's largest markets for new solar installations in 2024.' Pakistan's case shows that the low-cost, fast-to-build nature of solar power can transform electricity systems at an unprecedented rate. Updated system planning and regulatory frameworks are needed alongside this deployment to ensure a sustainable and managed transition. In the Middle East, Saudi Arabia imported 16 GW in 2024, more than double the amount imported the year before. Oman saw the largest percentage growth in imports in the region, with 2.5 GW of imports in 2024 representing a fivefold increase from the year before. South Africa imported 3.8 GW of solar panels in 2024, following a record-breaking 2023 when 4.3 GW were imported as consumers turned to the technology amid rising blackouts. Nigeria and Morocco imported 1.3 GW and 1.1 GW respectively, marking the first time that either country has imported more than 1 GW in a single year. The expansion of solar power is a worldwide phenomenon, with 99 countries doubling the amount of electricity they produce from solar power in the last five years. The majority of solar generation now comes from non-OECD countries (58 percent), with China alone making up 39 percent of the global total. Increases in generation have been achieved thanks to the pace of capacity additions, the Global Electricity Review said. The world installed a record 585 gigawatts of solar capacity last year – 30% more than in 2023, and more than double the amount installed in 2022. Having surpassed 1 TW of solar power in 2022, it took only two years to install the next 1 TW. 'This is not just unprecedented for solar power – it is a rate of growth that no power source has seen before. In fact, the solar capacity installed in 2024 is more than the annual capacity installations of all fuels combined in any year before 2023,' the Global Electricity Review 2025 report added. As solar's share of the global electricity mix has risen to 6.9 percent of global generation in 2024, some countries are showing it is possible to incorporate much larger amounts. There are now 21 countries that generate more than 15 percent of their electricity from solar power, up from just three countries five years ago.
