Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) on Saturday has expressed concern over the government’s decision to impose a General Sales Tax (GST) on solar equipment.
In a statement, Senior Vice President of Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Khawaja ShahzebAkram strongly opposed this 17 % sales tax on solar equipment.
Shahzeb said that all consignments of solar equipment booked before Finance Supplementary Bill 2021 are dealt with the sales tax prior to 15th January 2022. Finance Supplementary Bill 2021 has drastically affected the Solar equipment consignment that had been booked prior to the announcement of the Budget. Presently there is a number of imported containers awaiting customs clearance. Since the announcement of the budget, these consignments have been withheld due to the automatic imposition of the tax. The importers are being levied very heavy demurrage charges, he added.
He said, unfortunately, budgeting and policymaking had been done without consulting stakeholders. Despite clear assurance by the Federal Finance Minister ShaukatTarin, the imposition of a 17% tax on solar energy equipment is a sheer injustice and will hit the objectives of the Alternate & Renewable Energy Policy. The tax should be withdrawn immediately.
SVP FPCCI Khawaja ShahzebAkram said that the imposition of a 17% tax on solar energy equipment will fragile the efforts for the promotion of alternative energy sources in the country.
He said at a time when the world is setting targets for a zero-carbon economy, supporting the trade of green products, and imposing penalties on the high carbon sector, the government’s decision to impose a tax on solar energy equipment does not prevail as a favorable idea for its own sustainability.
