NA standing committee refuses to endorse solar import tax

ISLAMABAD:  The budget proposal for an 18% sales tax on imported solar panels was rejected by the National Assembly’s standing committee on finance on Tuesday.

The NA body’s meeting, which was presided over by Naveed Qamar, was informed by the Chairman Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) that solar cells are exempt from sales tax. “The importation of full solar panels is exempt from sales tax. Parts that are imported to be finished here are subject to taxes, the head of the FBR stated.

“If you are talking about renewable energy, you shouldn’t slap a tax on solar panels,” Mirza Iftikhar stated. “Imported solar panels are less expensive than locally made ones, which are also of lower quality,” he stated.

The FBR’s proposal was rejected by the standing committee members by a majority vote.

In his dissenting remark, Javed Hanif of the MQM opposed the budget plan to impose an 18% general sales tax on solar panels, claiming that foreign solar panels are being dumped in Pakistan.

He cautioned, “In the case of the GST relief, solar panels would not be manufactured in Pakistan.”