The second attempt for the privatization of the national airline PIA is fully prepared, with several returning bidders and stakeholders participating in the process.
A meeting of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Privatization, chaired by Farooq Sattar, was informed that in the previous round, bidders had recommended waiving the 18% GST imposed by the government on the inclusion of new aircraft and fleet expansion. They believed that removing this tax would facilitate the acquisition of new planes.
As reported by Geo News on Tuesday, the committee was informed that PIA’s liabilities amount to Rs 45 billion, including Rs 26 billion in tax dues to the FBR, Rs 10 billion payable to the Civil Aviation Authority, and the remaining amount consisting of pension liabilities.
The IMF has agreed that if PIA is privatized, the 18% GST can be removed to encourage private sector investment in new aircraft.
Furthermore, the committee was told that non-core assets are not part of PIA’s bidding process. The government is formulating a separate policy for these assets, for which the consultant has proposed two to three options to the Cabinet Committee on Privatization.
