Lahore
\nDespite clear assurance by the Federal Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin, imposition of 17% tax on the solar energy equipment is a sheer injustice and will hit the objectives of the Alternate & Renewable Energy Policy.
\nThe tax should be withdrawn immediately.
\nThe demand was raised at an urgent Press Conference jointly organized by the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry and Pakistan Solar Association at the LCCI on Friday. LCCI president Mian Nauman Kabir, senior vice president Mian Rehman Aziz Chan, Acting chairman of Pakistan Solar Association M. Farhan, senior vice chairman Waqas Moosa, members of the association Amir Chaudhry, Ali Rafiq and others addressed the Press Conference.
\nPakistan Solar Association representatives said that on January 13th, Federal Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin, in his speech on Supplementary Finance Bill 2021-22, announced that the proposal of tax on solar equipment has been removed.
\nBut on January 17th, while submitting import GDs on the FBR portal for customs clearance, it was discovered by various importers that the sales tax exemption was eliminated and tax was imposed on solar equipment.
\nThey said that the solar and wind power plants are the only alternative solution against the rising prices of electricity, gas and petrol and the increasing environmental pollution in the country. They said that the fossil fuel based power plants require costly imported diesel and oil while the installation of solar system is required one-time investment which provides continuous benefits for more than 25 years without additional expenses.
\nLCCI president Mian Nauman Kabir said that the imposition of 17% tax on the solar energy equipment will fragile the efforts for the promotion of alternative energy sources in the country.
\nHe said that the Finance Minister announces tax exemption on solar equipment while the tax has been imposed which means that his credibility is being challenged.
\nHe 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\u2019s decision to impose tax on solar energy equipment does not prevail as a favorable idea for its own sustainability.
\nMian Nauman Kabir said that the country needs to increase exports and earn foreign exchange. However, solar energy is becoming costly due to increased taxes, thus pushing up production cost to compete on the international market.
\nLCCI senior vice president Mian Rehman Aziz Chan said that there is a dire need of the promotion of alternative energy sources to control the high import bill. He said that the solar equipment are imported one time and generate energy for the life of the equipment while on the other hand, the import of oil has to be imported on a regular basis to produce electricity through thermal means.
\nHe said that this decision is against the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan. He said that the thermal means of power generation are not environment friendly.
\nThe participants of the press conference were of the view that the developed countries of the world are producing policies to facilitate the solar industry while in Pakistan, new taxes are being imposed on this sector that will have deadly economic impacts.
\nThey urged the Prime Minister Imran Khan and Federal Finance Minsiter Shaukat Tarin to review the decision to levy sales tax on solar equipment in the long-term and wider interest of the country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Lahore Despite clear assurance by the Federal Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin, imposition of 17% tax on the solar energy equipment is a sheer injustice and will hit the objectives of the Alternate & Renewable Energy Policy. The tax should be withdrawn immediately. The demand was raised at an urgent Press Conference jointly organized by the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-240023","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-business"},"yoast_head":"\n