ISLAMABAD: Members of the Prime Minister’s Advisory Council on IT and Digital Economy have advised the government not to impose any new tax on information technology, freelancers, e-commerce and start-ups.
Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Syed Aminul Haq has said that for the development of the country’s digital economy, it is important to solve the problems of the IT and telecom industry and give them maximum relief.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also has a special interest in the promotion of the IT industry, he expressed these views while presiding over the meeting of the Advisory Council for IT and Digital Economy established by the Prime Minister, on this occasion Federal Minister for Information Technology Syed Aminul Haq announced the establishment of 3 different committees of IT, Personal Data Protection and Telecom to prepare final recommendations related to the promotion of the industry, which will submit their recommendations in a week, after which these reports will be submitted to the Prime Minister and Chairman of the Advisory Council Mian. will be presented to Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif.
Federal Minister for Finance Miftah Ismail, Special Assistant for Juvenile Affairs Shanze Fatima, Senator Afnanullah Khan, Secretary IT Mohsin Mushtaq Chandna, Additional Secretary IT, Former Secretary IT Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui, representatives of FBR, State Bank of Pakistan were present in the meeting. Other members including
In the meeting, issues related to ITV Telecom related projects in China Pakistan Economic Corridor, issues related to freelancers, start-ups and provision of broadband services to grassroots level for digital transformation were discussed in detail.
On this occasion, the council members stressed the need for continuity in government policies and said that the industry and investors are vulnerable to uncertainty due to the changing situation, which is harming the efforts to promote the digital economy. Required support from State Bank and FBR is not available. Continuity in government policies can be attractive to local and international investors.
IT Minister Syed Aminul Haq agreed to this and said that the purpose of the establishment of the advisory council is to solve the problems of the IT and telecom industry and make practical proposals to give it a more active role in the country’s economy. will be presented to Azam.
Council members suggested that no new tax should be imposed/or introduced for IT, freelancers, e-commerce and start-ups to promote domestic digital transformation and increase exports. The IT industry is the fastest and least expensive source of investment to increase Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves, so we need to ensure ease of doing business and policy continuity as much as possible.
It may be noted that none of the budget proposals submitted by the telecom sector were considered and instead the Federal Excise Duty (FED) on telecom customers was increased from 16% to 19.5%. In addition, the regulatory duty on import of optic fiber cable was increased from 10% to 20%, hurting private sector and government-led Universal Support Fund (USF) fiber laying projects.
During the meeting, the Advisory Council members stressed the need to ensure continuity in government policies, which can be attractive to domestic and international investors.