Expats, tourists allowed tax-free use of mobile for 120 days

PM Shehbaz terms the initiative a good step to facilitate millions of overseas Pakistanis

ISLAMABAD:

In order to facilitate overseas Pakistanis and foreign nationals visiting the country as tourists, the government has inaugurated the online Temporary Mobile Phone Registration System.

The service will allow registration and usage of personal mobile phones by overseas Pakistanis and foreign nationals visiting the country for up to 120 days from the date of their arrival without any duty or tax.

Students and employees as well as foreign nationals visiting Pakistan for tourism or business purposes can benefit from the new facility.

Addressing the inaugural ceremony on Tuesday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif stressed the need of making efforts to facilitate overseas Pakistanis with the introduction of different information technology-related initiatives.

He termed the initiative a good step to facilitate millions of overseas Pakistanis, by enabling them to get registration for their mobile phones during their visit to Pakistan and without paying any taxes.

He maintained that the facility would now enable overseas Pakistanis to use their mobile phones for four months after registration on their visit to Pakistan.

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The prime minister also advised the relevant authorities to streamline the process and hinted that a financial package for overseas Pakistanis would be announced by the government in the coming days.

He opined that the developed countries had made strides in the IT sector and Pakistan possessed immense talent as millions of younger people were getting IT education.

He stressed that the vast opportunities in the IT sector should be fully tapped.

He also said that under the PM’s youth programmes, a huge chunk of funds had been set aside to impart vocational and skills development education to the youth, besides the laptops were being given to the students on merit.

Stressing upon the promotion of the IT sector, he viewed the growth of the sector, exploration of minerals and development of the agriculture sector as the main ingredients of the country’s economy.

He advised the authorities to expedite the work on the IT park and said with the realisation of the IT-related projects, the country would make progress by leaps and bounds.

He further said Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) has been constituted in Pakistan to attract foreign investment and revive the country's economy. Dubbing the SIFC a programme of economic recovery, he said the IT ministry has a key role in achieving the goals set in this regard.

(With input from APP)