Board of investment: Decision to not enforce GIDC on power plants lauded

PESHAWAR:

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Board of Investment (KPBoIT) and business community appreciated the decision of the Senate committee to not levy the Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC) on captive power plants. Any gas cess already levied will be returned.

The decision was taken in a meeting of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Senator Iqbal Zafar Jhagra and Federal Minister for Petroleum and National Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Senator Mohsin Aziz, Senator Ilyas Ahmad Bilour and Saleem Mandviwala. The meeting took place in Islamabad on Thursday.

According to a handout issued by the investment board’s press relations officer, Senator Mohsin Aziz who is also the vice chairman of KPBoIT said the committee had discussed in great detail the impact if GIDC on industries and captive power units. The rights of smaller provinces, and various judgments taken by Peshawar High Court, Islamabad High Court and Supreme Court on the levy were taken into consideration. The reduction of GIDC rates for industries and captive power units was also discussed.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 17^th, 2015.