Govt refuses to grant 10-year tax exemption to PEMRA
zulfiqar ghuman
ISLAMABAD, September 30 2005: The government has refused to grant 10-year tax exemption to the Pakistan Electronic Media Regularity Authority (PEMRA), stating that the matter needed to be examined in detail and with inter-ministerial consultations, sources told Daily Times on Thursday September 29.
“The matter requires inter-ministerial consultations, especially with the Finance Division and the Central Board of Revenue (CBR). The position about the tax treatment to other regulatory bodies may also be incorporated with PEMRA’s proposal of a tax exemption,” sources quoted a senior official of the Finance Division.
The PEMRA had requested the Cabinet Committee on Regulatory Bodies (CCRB) for the 10-year tax exemption, citing weak financial position of the authority. The cabinet committee, sources said, observed that the ministries and divisions concerned had not been consulted in the preparation of the proposal. “The position about the tax treatment in case of regulatory bodies, other than the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), was also not reflected in PEMRA’s request for tax exemption,” sources said.
PEMRA was established through a presidential ordinance on March 1, 2002 to regulate and induct private sector into electronic media and was mandated to improve the standard of information, education and entertainment and to ensure accountability, transparency and good governance by optimising free flow of information.
“The CCRB was informed that PEMRA had been established as a statutory body to regulate and facilitate electronic media and was supposed to generate its own resources,” sources said. They added that the authority told the CCRB that though it was not a commercial concern and it had to generate funds for sustenance and operations.
Source: Daily Times
Date:9/30/2005
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