Firearms licensing fees skyrocket

Exorbitant charges may discourage legal gun ownership and sale

LAHORE:

The caretaker cabinet of Punjab formally approved a 2,000 percent increase on all fees related to the issuance and renewal of individual and commercial firearm licenses. The recent lump sum hike is the biggest increase in arms license fees in any province in the country's history.

After the approval of changes in Schedule One of Punjab Arms Rules 2023 by the Cabinet, applicants seeking weapon licenses for personal protection or hunting will have to pay a fee of Rs50,000 instead of Rs10,000. Existing license holders will have to pay Rs5,000 instead of Rs1,000 to renewing their license.

Meanwhile, the fee for obtaining an "All Pakistan" license from the Punjab Interior Department was increased by 2,000 percent from Rs5,000 to Rs100,000. The fee for private institutions and security companies was increased from Rs7,000 to Rs50,000, while the NADRA arms license processing fee was raised from Rs1,400 to Rs2,000. Similarly, the fee for acquiring a duplicate arms license rose from Rs1,000 to Rs5,000.

The Punjab Interior Department will start receiving online applications for arms licenses with the support of NADRA. The caretaker cabinet has approved a registration fee of Rs1,200 to apply online. The caretaker cabinet also approved an increase of up to 2,000 percent in the fees of arms dealers, manufacturers, gunsmiths and companies. The fee for the new license of arms dealership has increased from Rs100,000 to Rs2 million.

Public and business circles have expressed serious concern over the abnormal increase in fees and said that there is a fear of greater illegal arms possession in public and an increase in the black market arms trading. The record increase in fees will discourage the trend of legally owning firearms for personal protection and hunting.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 24^th, 2023.