Telecom lobby questions use of USF money to help pay off circular debt
Reports say govt has either diverted or is planning to divert funds to power sector.
USF contributions are not tax revenues for the government, and its diversion to the FCF will be ‘ultra vires’, illegal. PHOTO: FILE
KARACHI:
The Internet Service Providers Association of Pakistan (Ispak) has raised the issue of transfer of funds from universal service fund (USF) to the federal consolidated fund (FCF) by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Saturday.
Propakistani, an Islamabad-based blog that covers IT and Telecom news, reported on Friday that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government transferred Rs50 billion from the USF – an independent body meant for the expansion of telecom services in remote areas – to the finance ministry for settling an exiguous part of the circular debt.
It has been learnt from media reports that the government has either diverted or is planning to divert the balance available in the USF to FCF to pay to the power sector, said Ispak’s letter to the finance minister.
Earlier, the Economic Coordination Committee, in its meeting, decided to put into the federal consolidated fund over Rs17 billion collected through the USF of the information technology ministry. It held that the ministry had been keeping these funds with itself illegally, according to media reports.
“Licensed telecom operators have been earnestly contributing 1.5% of their gross revenues to USF for the sole objective of promoting telecom infrastructure in un-served and under-served areas of the country,” the letter said.
USF contributions are not tax revenues for the government, and its diversion to the FCF will be ‘ultra vires’, illegal and contrary to the provision of Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organisation) Act, 1996, the letter said. Such diversion also infringes the licensed rights of all the telecom operators and is contrary to the USF Rules, it said.
Diverting USF money for other governmental expenditures will tarnish the image of Pakistan in the eyes of international investors and will seriously hamper the efforts to generate decent revenues from the forthcoming auction of 3/4 generation spectrum, it said.
Ispak’s letter asked Dar to abandon any such move in the best interest of the country and telecom sector.
A committee comprising Federal Minister Zahid Hamid, Minister of State Anusha Rehman and the secretaries for law and finance will formulate rules within three days for the utilisation of the USF.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 30th, 2013.
The Internet Service Providers Association of Pakistan (Ispak) has raised the issue of transfer of funds from universal service fund (USF) to the federal consolidated fund (FCF) by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Saturday.
Propakistani, an Islamabad-based blog that covers IT and Telecom news, reported on Friday that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government transferred Rs50 billion from the USF – an independent body meant for the expansion of telecom services in remote areas – to the finance ministry for settling an exiguous part of the circular debt.
It has been learnt from media reports that the government has either diverted or is planning to divert the balance available in the USF to FCF to pay to the power sector, said Ispak’s letter to the finance minister.
Earlier, the Economic Coordination Committee, in its meeting, decided to put into the federal consolidated fund over Rs17 billion collected through the USF of the information technology ministry. It held that the ministry had been keeping these funds with itself illegally, according to media reports.
“Licensed telecom operators have been earnestly contributing 1.5% of their gross revenues to USF for the sole objective of promoting telecom infrastructure in un-served and under-served areas of the country,” the letter said.
USF contributions are not tax revenues for the government, and its diversion to the FCF will be ‘ultra vires’, illegal and contrary to the provision of Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organisation) Act, 1996, the letter said. Such diversion also infringes the licensed rights of all the telecom operators and is contrary to the USF Rules, it said.
Diverting USF money for other governmental expenditures will tarnish the image of Pakistan in the eyes of international investors and will seriously hamper the efforts to generate decent revenues from the forthcoming auction of 3/4 generation spectrum, it said.
Ispak’s letter asked Dar to abandon any such move in the best interest of the country and telecom sector.
A committee comprising Federal Minister Zahid Hamid, Minister of State Anusha Rehman and the secretaries for law and finance will formulate rules within three days for the utilisation of the USF.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 30th, 2013.