ISLAMABAD: After facing severe criticism, Federal Energy Minister Hammad Azhar clarified the imposition of federal excise duty (FED) on internet data usage, saying that Prime Minister Imran Khan and cabinet did not approve the levy.
The Energy Minister assured everyone that the duty will not be included in the final draft of the Finance Bill that has been put before the parliament for approval. “The PM and Cabinet did not approve the FED levy on internet data usage,” tweeted the minister.
The PM and Cabinet did not approve the FED levy on internet data usage. It will not be included in the final draft of the Finance Bill (budget) that is placed before parliament for approval.
— Hammad Azhar (@Hammad_Azhar) June 11, 2021
The minister issued the clarification after the budget documents circulated with the media showed that the government had imposed Rs1 federal excise duty on mobile phone calls exceeding three minutes.
The proposal also said that Rs0.1 tax per SMS, and Rs5 tax per GB on internet data usage has been proposed. The budget document said that the proposal was made “to reap reasonable revenue” from the telecom sector.
The imposition of federal excise duty (FED) on internet data usage causes uproar on social media. People started criticizing the federal government over the move.
As rightly pointed out by @taidrus internet is facilitator and back bone of Digital Transformation, IoT, AI and as its a multiplier it should be tax free along with ICT as these drive other sectors – use it as stepping stone not a end point. #DigitalTransformation https://t.co/rsmkGYRWHB
— FJ (@janjuafm) June 11, 2021
Great to see some very bold moves in the budget today, but taxing the internet further is regressive and will not help us move towards a Digital???????? #Budget2021
— Tania Aidrus (@taidrus) June 11, 2021
