The government resolved the longstanding issues and approved massive incentives for the information and telecom sector on Tuesday.
The federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecom (IT&T), Syed Amin ul Haque met the federal Minister for Finance, Shaukat Tarin where the breakthrough was made.
While talking to ProPakistani, Minister, Amin ul Haque said, “I am pleased to apprise our industry that the Finance Minister has approved a fund to provide Cash Rewards to IT/ITeS companies against the trade surplus of their exports of products and services from Pakistan. This was a long-standing demand of P@SHA”.
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He said that one percent of the IT/ITeS industry annual export remittances will be allocated to the PSEB every year to carry out HR skills development, capacity enhancement of IT companies, branding/marketing and business development, and establishment of software technology parks across Pakistan.
While commenting on the IT industry regarding the tax matters, the minister expressed his gratitude to Minister Tarin for agreeing to form a high-level, high-powered dispute resolution committee for the quick resolution of any tax-related disputes of the IT/ITeS industry.
He noted that the long-standing demand of the IT industry has been addressed, and stated that as per the directions of the Minister for Finance, the FBR will revise and expand the tax definition of the IT/ITeS industry in consultation with the IT industry to ensure the coverage of all the IT and ITeS sub-sectors.
He was also thankful to the Minister for Finance for agreeing to undertake steps to facilitate foreign-owned companies operating in Pakistan with outbound remittances, and the Advisor to Prime Minister, Razak Dawood, for supporting the proposals of the Ministry of IT&T.
Minister Amin Ul Haque added that the directions for the resolution of the profit repatriation issues for multinational technology companies had been given by Minister Tarin.
“These steps will help attract FDI towards Pakistan’s tech sector, enable high-worth job growth, and enhance export income for the country,” he remarked.
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Additionally, steps for the Special Foreign Currency Accounts were agreed upon today to facilitate the opening of foreign currency accounts under the FCA regime for the IT/ITeS industry, startups, and freelancers.
