The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue has turned down a proposal to impose an 18 percent General Sales Tax (GST) on imported solar panels and photovoltaic cells.
The proposal, brought forward by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), was unanimously rejected by the committee members during a meeting held on Tuesday. The FBR had argued that imposing the tax would help regulate solar panel imports, where instances of money laundering were reportedly detected. It also claimed that imported panels were rarely used in the domestic market.
Despite these concerns, committee members disagreed with the tax proposal. They stated that access to affordable solar technology was essential for the public, especially amid growing energy costs. The lawmakers emphasized that encouraging the use of solar panels was in the national interest, given the push for renewable energy.
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Earlier, the FBR chairman had informed a parliamentary panel that locally assembled solar panels were already taxed, whereas imported ones were not. He argued that this imbalance was hurting local manufacturers. By introducing the same tax on imported panels, the FBR hoped to ensure fair competition for the domestic industry.
However, the finance committee chose to prioritise affordability and public access to clean energy over revenue concerns, effectively halting the tax move—for now.