NA Committee Rejects Proposal to Slap 18% Tax on Solar Panel Imports

The National Assem­bly’s Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue Tuesday rejected the proposal to slap a standard 18 percent General Sales Tax (GST) on imported solar panels and photovoltaic cells. The committee members unanimously rejected the proposal despite opposition by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). The tax body was of the opinion that money laundering has been deducted in solar panel imports and said that these panels are rarely used in the domestic market. However, the committee members of the opinion that the public should be allowed to take advantage of solar panel imports and rejected the proposal to impose GST on the said imports. A few days earlier, while briefing a parliamentary panel, FBR chairman had said that that locally assembled solar panels were already subject to the same tax, while imported panels had been tax-free, creating a disadvantage for local manufacturers. The FBR chairman said the proposed tax on solar imports would help create a level playing field for the local industry.