- Locally assembled solar panels are already faced with the same tax: the FBR chief.
- The new import tax to help create a playing field, explains Langrial.
- The move also aligns with broader budgetary objectives within the framework of reforms guided by the IMF.
Islamabad: The government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Shehbaz Sharif, in accordance with official documents, envisages 20 billion tax revenue during the year 2025-20 The news reported on Sunday.
The planned tax taking implies that the government expects solar imports to go through more than 10 billion exercise rupees in the next exercise – despite the concerns of the industry that the new sample could slow the momentum in the country’s solar adoption campaign.
TPS on imported solar panels – which have become an alternative and inexpensive key of electricity and inexpensive for the masses tired by inflation of the country under the name of arrow energy bills – was revealed by the Minister of Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb during his speech on the budget where he declared that this decision was to support local manufacturers and repair the imbalances on the market.
Note that the measure would play an important role in promoting Pakistan’s inner solar industry, which has long struggled to compete with cheaper foreign alternatives, the financial Czar said that the proposed TPS was part of a wider effort to solve the long -standing problems of the country’s sales tax system and introduce equity between the sectors.
The tax proposed by the Government must be taken in the context of the fact that by virtue of the loan agreement on the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Pakistan has greatly increased electricity and gas prices to support suppliers in difficulty in the sector strongly indebted last year.
Pakistani are now paying more than a quarter more on average for electricity, by triggering a race to install solar modules.
Last year, Solaire represented more than 14% of Pakistan’s power supply, compared to 4% in 2021 and the displacement of coal as the third source of energy, according to the UK Energy reflection group.
Meanwhile, the president of the Federal Board of Return (FBR), Rashid Langrial, told a parliamentary panel that locally assembled solar panels were already subject to the same tax, while imported panels had been free of tax, creating a drawback for local manufacturers.
He said the new import tax would help create a field of play for national industry.
This decision comes as the net-headed solar capacity of Pakistan has more than tripled in less than two years, going from 1.3 gigawatts during the 201023 to 4.9 GW financial year by March 2025, according to the energy of energy reflection based in Islamabad.
This explosive growth has been largely fueled by households and businesses looking for alleviations to chronic power outages and rates in grid electricity.
While the government considers TPS as a tool generating income in the middle of the budgetary tightening, industry players warn that it could dissuade new investments in solar infrastructure, especially for small -scale consumers.
However, political decision -makers argue that solar energy demand – now considered to be coverage against energy inflation – remains strong enough to maintain volumes with high importance despite higher costs.
This decision is also aligned with the wider budgetary objectives of Pakistan in the context of the reforms guided by the IMF, which push for enlarged tax bases and a reduction in subsidies between the energy sectors.