Latest news with #Rs20
Express Tribune
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Rs1b development schemes approved for District East: Wahab
Mayor Murtaza Wahab has said that eleven development schemes worth Rs1 billion have been approved in the budget for district east, and work on these projects will commence in coming days. He said a longstanding issue in the area is sewerage and all lines in the area will be repaired at a cost of Rs132 million. Funds of Rs20 million have been allocated for each of Karachi's 246 union councils. "We have allocated funds for every UC without any discrimination, regardless of the political party affiliation, because every UC represents Karachi," he said. The mayor was talking to the media after laying the foundation stone for various development projects in Lines Area, including internal road restoration, drainage, and carpeting of streets. He further stated that this week, Karachi will receive another Rs1 billion development package. "All development work in the area will be completed within this year, including carpeting of 200,000 square feet of internal roads, he mentioned." He urged the public to stop using plastic bags, which are the main cause of destruction in the city's sewerage system. He criticised those who hinder development work and engage in divisive politics.
Time of India
a day ago
- Automotive
- Time of India
Speeding sports bike rams mini truck on Amravati Bypass; biker injured
Nagpur: A speeding sports bike collided with a tempo taking a U-turn on an isolated stretch of the Amravati Bypass Road on Thursday, leaving the motorcyclist injured and the vehicle heavily damaged. According to initial reports, the luxury vehicle costing over Rs20 lakh rammed into a mini truck that was attempting a U-turn on the bypass. The biker sustained multiple injuries, including a dislocated shoulder. He was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital for medical attention. The impact left the motorcycle severely damaged. Further details are awaited as the inquiry progresses.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Tower, statue and park named after Vidyapati opened in Madhubani's Benipatti
Madhubani: Benipatti BJP MLA Vinod Narayan Jha inaugurated a tower, a statue, and a park dedicated to Vidyapati near Samsari Pokhar at Benipatti in Madhubani district on Wednesday. Constructed at a cost of Rs20 lakh, of which Rs14.5 lakhs was allocated from the local area discretionary fund, the initiative aims to honour the legacy of Vidyapati, a revered Maithili poet and scholar. Addressing the inaugural function held at Benipatti on Wednesday, Jha said Vidyapati (1352–1448), known as Maithil Kavi Kokil, was a Sanskrit polymath, poet, and playwright. Born to a Maithil Brahmin family, his name, meaning "master of knowledge,". It reflects his scholarly prowess in Sanskrit, Prakrit, Apabhramsha, and Maithili, Jha said. Vinod Narain Jha further said that Vidyapati served as a court poet and priest under the Oiniwar dynasty, notably for kings Kīrttisiṃha, Devasimha, and Sivasimha, with whom he shared a close friendship. His works include the praise-poem Kīrtilatā, the prose Bhūparikramaṇa, and over 500 love songs about Radha and Krishna (1380–1406), which shaped Maithili literature and influenced Bengali, Assamese, and Oriya traditions, Jha added. Prominent among others who addressed the gathering included former president of Chetna Samiti Vijay Kumar Thakur; its present secretary and treasurer, Umesh Mishra and Jaydeva Mishra, respectively. A prominent Maithili litterateur Rangnath Diwakar, senior BJP leader Hitendra Thakur and others were also present. Madhubani: Benipatti BJP MLA Vinod Narayan Jha inaugurated a tower, a statue, and a park dedicated to Vidyapati near Samsari Pokhar at Benipatti in Madhubani district on Wednesday. Constructed at a cost of Rs20 lakh, of which Rs14.5 lakhs was allocated from the local area discretionary fund, the initiative aims to honour the legacy of Vidyapati, a revered Maithili poet and scholar. Addressing the inaugural function held at Benipatti on Wednesday, Jha said Vidyapati (1352–1448), known as Maithil Kavi Kokil, was a Sanskrit polymath, poet, and playwright. Born to a Maithil Brahmin family, his name, meaning "master of knowledge,". It reflects his scholarly prowess in Sanskrit, Prakrit, Apabhramsha, and Maithili, Jha said. Vinod Narain Jha further said that Vidyapati served as a court poet and priest under the Oiniwar dynasty, notably for kings Kīrttisiṃha, Devasimha, and Sivasimha, with whom he shared a close friendship. His works include the praise-poem Kīrtilatā, the prose Bhūparikramaṇa, and over 500 love songs about Radha and Krishna (1380–1406), which shaped Maithili literature and influenced Bengali, Assamese, and Oriya traditions, Jha added. Prominent among others who addressed the gathering included former president of Chetna Samiti Vijay Kumar Thakur; its present secretary and treasurer, Umesh Mishra and Jaydeva Mishra, respectively. A prominent Maithili litterateur Rangnath Diwakar, senior BJP leader Hitendra Thakur and others were also present.
Express Tribune
3 days ago
- Business
- Express Tribune
Taxes on hybrid cars, solar panels being withdrawn
Listen to article The National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance on Tuesday unanimously rejected the proposed 18% sales tax on the import of solar panels, while the government also announced the withdrawal of another controversial measure to increase sales tax on hybrid vehicles, reversing both the anti-environment initiatives. The committee in its meeting, chaired by Pakistan Peoples Party's (PPP) National Assembly member (MNA) and former finance minister Syed Naveed Qamar, also raised questions on the proposed new bill, the Digital Presence Proceeds Act 2025 but did not announce its judgment. The rejection of the 18% sales tax on import of solar panels and its parts, as announced by Qamar, is the first such rejection by the committee after it started discussing the Finance Bill. Unlike the Senate, the decisions of the National Assembly or its standing committee are binding in case of the Finance Bill. The government had estimated Rs20 billion in revenues from the 18% sales tax on the import and supply of photovoltaic cells, whether assembled or not. Since the IMF had not endorsed the proposal, the rejection by the committee will not have any adverse implications for the IMF programme. During the committee meeting, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Rashid Langrial argued that sales tax had already been levied on the local assembly of the solar panels; therefore, the rejection of the import stage tax could put the local industry at a disadvantage. However, he could not give firm figures about the share of the local industry in the total sales but said that a very few percentage was supplied locally. "If the government did not accept our rejection, the National Assembly will veto it," Qamar said. Qamar asked the government to find other ways for incentivising the local industry. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said that the era of giving subsidies had ended. On that Qamar reminded him that the government had just announced subsidies in the budget for electric vehicles. In the budget, the government had imposed 1% to 3% car engine levy to raise Rs10 billion for funding the electric vehicles. "It is a cross subsidy on electric vehicles", Aurangzeb said. "It is still a subsidy funded by someone else," retorted Qamar. The government has long been trying to discourage the use of solar panels – a source of cheaper electricity – over the government-sold expensive grid-based power. "No political party in the National Assembly has supported the 18% tax and the government will have to withdraw it," Qamar said. The finance minister acknowledged the feedback. Hybrid cars Meanwhile, the government on Tuesday announced the withdrawal of the proposed increase in the sales tax rate from 12.5% to 18% on hybrid cars of up to 1800 cc. This would result in a loss of Rs7 billion potential revenue. The reduced sales tax rate of 12.5% on the hybrid cars would stay, FBR Chairman Langrial stated. Although, he told the committee, the finance minister had announced it in the budget speech, the tax would not be increased. It is the second time in the past one year when the government announced to increase the sales tax rate on hybrid cars but subsequently withdrew it before the approval of the budget by the National Assembly. Under the automobile policy, the government cannot increase the rate till June 2026. However, the FBR chairman refused to withdraw the proposed increase in the sales tax rate for middle income group's up to 850 cc cars. In the budget, the government has proposed to increase the sales tax rate on 850 cc cars from 12.5% to 18%. Langrial said that if a person can buy a Rs3 million small car, he can also pay 18% sales tax. It seems that after the budget small cars will become expensive but the luxurious SUVs will become cheaper, remarked MNA Usama Mela of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). The committee had a heated discussion on the issue of giving policing powers to the FBR and the fear of its abuse by the taxmen. The entire Finance Bill is like declaring martial law on businesses, remarked PPP MNA Nafisa Shah. However, the chairman FBR took an exception to labelling the bill as a piece of martial law work. "The harsh words like martial law have been used but I want to clarify that I work for the democratic government," Langrial said, before opting to leave the meeting hall. The standing committee also showed its discomfort over giving FBR's authority to the local police to trace the non-tax paid cigarettes and confiscate those. The members observed that this would give another window to the police to extract money from the people. "Poor people smoke to relieve stress but the rich can afford diet coke," Sharmila Faruqi remarked. The committee also questioned the government's new bill, the Digital Presence Proceeds Act. The bill has been introduced to charge 5% tax on the value of online payments made to foreign digital companies like Netflix and Amazon. FBR Member Dr Najeeb Memon said that the quantum of foreign payments was much more than Rs300 billion and the government could easily get Rs15 billion in revenues. He said that the credit card payments to firms like Netflix and Amazon stood at Rs300 billion this year. The size of tax-free sales by Temu was also Rs4 billion. The committee members called for bring the bill as a separate law instead of making it part of the Finance Bill.
Business Recorder
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
NA panel rejects 18pc GST on solar panels
ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Standing Committees on Finance and Revenue, unanimously, rejected the proposal of imposing 18 percent sales tax on solar panels import, terming it unacceptable amid rising energy costs and public concern, as it would be counterproductive. The parliamentary panel met with Syed Naveed Qamar in the chair here on Tuesday, which gave its nod for Digital Present Proceeds Tax Act, 2025, proposing a new tax @ five percent on proceeds of digitally ordered goods, envisaging to safeguard taxing rights in the digital world. The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) admitted that the removal of less than 18 percent tax rate on motor vehicles will result in price escalation. The FBR chairman hinted of taking additional measures if GST on solar is withdrawn to cover Rs40 billion i.e. Rs20 billion revenue loss and Rs20 billion subsidy. The FBR chairman told the committee that both import and supply of photovoltaic cells whether or not assembled in modules or made up into panels is exempt from sales tax. This exemption disproportionality benefits commercial importers while the local industry is been rendered uncompetitive due to the absorption of input tax costs on purchase. During the session, the committee, unanimously, opposed the FBR suggestion to impose a sales tax on solar panels, observing that since the budget proposal, solar panel prices in the country already skyrocketed. The committee chairman stated that all political parties represented in Parliament were against the move to tax solar energy products, which are increasingly being adopted by households and businesses as an alternative to costly electricity. Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, responding to the objections, said that some of the committee's recommendations had been noted for review. Qamar confirmed that the committee had unanimously rejected the FBR's proposal to levy 18 per cent sales tax on solar panels, while terming it counterproductive. 'Tax should not be slapped over solar panels if you talk about the renewable energy,' Mirza Ikhtiar said. 'Imported solar panels are cheaper than the locally manufacture, which are also sub-standard in quality,' he said. Shahram Khan Taraki also termed the government policy confused and recommended for transfer of technology along with solar panels import. The FBR chairman revealed that over invoicing Rs65 billion has been established which comes under money laundering and resulted in taking dollars out of the country in solar panel imports. Under the Digital Presence Proceeds Tax Act, foreign vendors providing e-commerce goods will be taxed at five percent. Under this proposed Act, payment intermediaries including banks and financial institutions will collect tax on digital payment made to foreign vendors supplying goods into Pakistan. Services are not covered under this act. The digital advertisement of offering vendors, ie, Temu in Pakistani market by platforms such as Google will also be taxed in consistency with Pakistan taxing rights. The committee was informed that Temu earned Rs4 billion from the Pakistani market but payed no income tax. While briefing the committee on the removal of less than 18 percent tax rates on motor vehicles, the FBR informed the committee that it is not applicable on electrical vehicles. The FBR informed that the committee under the International Monetary Fund (IMF)'s arrangement, they are bound to increase the reduced rates in sales tax. The current rate above five percent would increase to 10 percent, while the above 10 percent would be increased to 18 percent and this would result in increase of motor vehicles. The committee rejected the proposal of the FBR to establish a separate Customs Command Fund (CCF) for the customs officials. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
