Chief Executive Officers of the telecom companies have informed Federal Minister IT Syed Aminul Haq about their concerns regarding government policies in a meeting yesterday.
Well-informed sources told ProPakistani that the telecom industry says that the Finance Division, FBR and State Bank policies are pushing the country towards the dark age instead of the digital age.
Telecom industry sources say that the CEOs of telcos had a detailed discussion with the Federal Minister on the problems faced by the telecom sector yesterday.
The telecom industry says that due to government policies, not only the telecom industry is suffering and new investment is not coming into this sector, but these policies are also affecting the IT industry as the telecom sector is the backbone of the IT sector and the majority of the IT businesses are based on the telecom and data services.
According to industry sources, the CEOs demanded the federal minister talk to the federal government to withdraw the 50% increase in withholding tax.
According to sources, the CEOs told the federal minister that with an overall 34.5 percent tax on telecom users including 15 percent withholding tax and 19.5 percent general sales tax, Pakistan is among the highest-taxed telecom markets in the world, while it ranks second highest in telecom taxation in South Asia.
According to sources, CEOs of telcos also raised the issue of industrial tariffs before the federal minister.
The CEOs said that telecom has been given industrial status but industrial tariff has not yet been implemented, due to which operational cost is increasing. Telecom companies charge the user in rupees while they have to pay the renewal fees in dollars.
According to Industry sources, the CEOs of the companies also raised the issue of the non-opening of LCs of the telecom sector before the federal minister. The CEOs told the Federal Minister that due to the non-opening of LCs and non-import of telecom industry equipment; the operations of the industry are being affected.
According to the sources, Federal Minister Syed Aminul Haq assured to talk to the federal government to solve the problems of the industry.
The Federal Minister said that the import of telecom equipment, spectrum fee, and industrial tariff are serious issues of the telecom industry that should be resolved immediately as economic stability and an increase in foreign exchange reserves are subject to the development of the telecom industry.
According to the sources, the Federal Minister said that the IT Ministry is making serious efforts to solve the problems of the industry.
The MoITT has sent proposals regarding the Telecom Industry to the Finance Ministry and the FBR. He assured that he will also talk to the Prime Minister to solve the problems faced by the industry.
Sources added that the CEOs of the telecom companies thanked the Federal Minister, and said that the Ministry of IT and Telecom always made serious efforts to solve the problems of the industry.
