Tax break for NMDs, Balochistan suggested

Senate resolution recommends tax exemption for ten more years

ISLAMABAD:

The Senate on Monday unanimously passed a resolution recommending that the incentive of tax exemption facility provided under the 25th Constitutional Amendment be extended for 10 years from 2023 to 2033 to ensure the revival of business activities and kick-start development in the merged districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa as well as Balochistan.

The resolution was moved by Jamaat-e-Islami Senator Mushtaq Ahmed.

The resolution said, “This House is cognisant of the poor financial position of the merged districts of erstwhile Fata and Pata in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces which aggravated further due to Covid restrictions and the recent wave of terrorism.”

It said the situation was adversely affecting the small and large businesses in the areas, so the tax exemption facility for 10 years would help the public revive their business activities.

Separately, the Senate Standing Committee on States and Frontier Regions (Safron) was told that the release of the remaining funds committed by the federal government for the development of merged tribal areas was imperative for ensuring the completion of ongoing projects.

K-P Sustainable Development Unit (SDU) Director General Sohail Khan informed the committee that the federal government made a commitment of Rs1 trillion for the development of erstwhile Fata in 10 years with Rs100 billion per annum.

The body, which met here with Senator Hilalur Rehman in the chair, took the stock of non-implementation of commitments made by the federal government under the 25th Constitutional Amendment for mainstreaming of merged districts of erstwhile Fata.

The meeting was attended by senators, including Dost Muhammad Khan, Gurdeep Singh, Sania Nishtar, Shamim Afridi, Haji Hidayatullah Khan as well as Safron Secretary Pervaiz Ahmed Junejo and officials of other departments concerned.

“If the federal government releases all the promised funds, it will help only in the completion of ongoing projects,” the DG SDU remarked.

The committee was also briefed about the geo-tagging of ongoing projects which was recommended by the committee in its previous meeting.

Senator Rehman appreciated the K-P government for the initiative and formed a sub-committee to expedite the progress on these projects.

While discussing the utilisation of funds allocated for the K-P Irrigation Department for Mohmand tribal district and Banjaur in the last three years, Senator Rehman remarked that according to the documents provided by the irrigation department in the last meeting, a total of Rs860 million had been utilised and 12 schemes had been completed but as of the current details which were submitted by the same department, only six schemes had been completed so far.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, January 17^th, 2023.