Tag: Gst

‘Reformed GST bill unconstitutional under Article 144’

ISLAMABAD: The reformed general sales tax (GST) bill is unconstitutional under Article 144, as it needs resolutions passed by each provincial assembly that authorise the federal government to collect GST on the their behalf, the Senate's Standing Committee on Finance has said.
The Senate body meeting was held on Monday to discuss the RGST and finance bills laid in parliament on November 12.
Pakistan Today observed that the committee Chairman Senator Ahmed Ali, Senator Safdar

GST not an inflation trigger: Hafeez Shaikh

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance Hafeez Shaikh said the reformed General Sales Tax (GST) would not be a catalyst for further inflation in the country.
"The RGST will not trigger inflation; no government wants to compound problems for its citizens", Hafeez Shaikh said while talking to reporters after attending the meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance, here on Monday.
When queried on whether the bill would encourage corruption and the pressing need for

PPP isolated on GST, judges’ appointment

ISLAMABAD: As serious differences have developed in the four-party ruling coalition over the reformed general sales tax (GST) and the parliamentary committee on appointment of judges, it is for the first time in three years that the PPP appears to have lost the confidence of all its allies and stands alone to face belligerent opposition parties.
Although the PPP has so far been successful in keeping the coalition of strange bedfellows intact, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM),

Pervez Malik denounces proposal of GST

LAHORE: Muslim League (N) MNA and renowned industrialist Muhammad Pervez Malik has condemned the proposal of reformed General Sales Tax (GST) and two percent increase in the electricity tariff and said that the government has acted as a deaf ear to strong protests by the Chambers of Commerce & Industry and other industrial associations across the country.
He maintained that PML-N strongly supports demands of the business community on these issues.
Pervez Malik said that

GST imposition will cripple leather industry

LAHORE: Various leather industry associations presented a united front in opposition to the imposition of reformed General Sales Tax (GST), which they claim may very well push the export-oriented sector to the brink of closure.
At a press conference, jointly chaired by LCCI President Shahzad Ali Malik, Chairman Pakistan Tanners' Association Khurshid Alam, Pakistan Leather Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PLGMEA) Vice Chairman Mudassar Masood Ch., Pakistan

GST will raise poultry prices by 40pc

LAHORE: Prices of poultry products would surge by around 30 to 40 percent after imposition of reformed General Sales Tax (GST), stakeholders of the industry told Pakistan Today on Monday.
Though the government has exempted chicken and egg from the reformed GST, it did not grant relaxations on poultry feed, which would eventually augment the input cost of the poultry farmers, they added.
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has granted a relaxation to the industry and

PML-N has dual stance on GST: Awan

ISLAMABAD: Law Minister Babar Awan on Saturday said that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz changed it stance on the General Sales Tax (GST) in public.
Talking to media at the Supreme Court building, he said the PML-N had a different stance on GST during the meeting of Council of Common Interests. Some politicians paid Rs 5,000 (income) tax despite earning millions, he added.
The minister said the appointment of the Supreme Court judges would be transparent and the criticism

NA body likely to throw out GST bill

ISLAMABAD: The reformed general sales tax (GST) is not likely to get through the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance in its present form with the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) only having five members of the 17-member committee.
The committee five members from the PML-N, three from the PML-Q and one each from the MQM, the ANP, the JUI-F and FATA. The PML-N, PML-Q and MQM have already announced that they would block the passage of this bill. The ANP and the JUI-F have

GST seeks sweeping powers against tax evaders

ISLAMABAD: Seeking sweeping powers for tax authorities against the tax evaders and approval of 10 percent surcharge on income tax, the government tabled the General Sales Tax Act 2010 in parliament on Friday.
Amidst the rumpus by the opposition in the House, Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh moved the bill, saying the federal government was in an immediate need of additional local resources to relieve pressure on the budget caused by extraordinary

PML-N says GST will be disastrous for economy

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Secretary Information MNA Ahsan Iqbal has said that Reformed General Sales Tax (GST) will be a disaster for the national economy.
He told Pakistan Today on Friday that GST imposition would entail another wave of price hike and the PML-N would never allowed the enforcement of this tax. He said the government was trying to achieve a revenue boost by imposing a repressive tax but it was mistaken because such an objective could not be achieved in

Govt tables bill in parliament – Friends turn foes over GST

ISLAMABAD: The government tabled the Reformed General Sales Tax (GST) Bill in both houses of the parliament on Friday as coalition partners - the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, the Awami National Party (ANP) and the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl - joined the opposition to reject the proposed controversial law.
While the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the PML-Quaid (PML-Q) announced that they would block the passage of the reformed GST bill in the National Assembly and the

GST dampens morale as KSE-100 index dips 37 points

KARACHI: The Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) underwent profit-taking on Thursday with the benchmark KSE-100 Index closing 37 points down at the 10,905 level. Imposition of the 10 percent flood surcharge tax by the government and 15.33 percent CPI for October dampened the morale of the investors.
Volumes remained sluggish and declined by 43 percent to stand at 125 million shares. The second-tier stocks remained in the limelight as TRG closed the day as the volume leader with 17

Opposition flexes muscles as GST likely in NA today

ISLAMABAD: Opposition parties in the National Assembly are all set to take on the government, which is likely to table the reformed general sales tax (RGST) bill in both Houses of the parliament today (Friday).
A well-placed source confided to the Pakistan Today that tabling a controversial piece of legislation in an already explosive situation in the lower house of the parliament could land the PPP-led government in hot waters.
PML-N senior leader and Opposition Leader

Cabinet approves flood tax, GST

ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet on Wednesday approved the reformed General Sales Tax (GST) Bill and a one-time imposition of the flood tax amidst tough resistance from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).
The MQM ministers did not even follow the prime minister's request not to make their opposition public and let a message of unanimity be passed on. After the meeting, Minister for Overseas Pakistanis Dr Farooq Sattar went public, saying the MQM did not support the cabinet

IMF links giving aid to reformed GST legislation

ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) team on Wednesday linked the release of next tranche of $1.7 billion with the presentation of draft legislation on the reformed general sales tax (RGST) in the national and provincial assembles prior to the next IMF board meeting.
Annoyed with the non-implementation of the reforms in the power sector and the reformed GST, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has stressed upon the government to give a clear implementation plan on

SBP views GST as inadequate measure

KARACHI: At a time when the government is working hard to create national consensus on the imposition of reformed General Sales Tax (GST); the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has serious doubts whether the enlargement in the tax net would be sufficient to cater to the needs of the country in the aftermath of the devastation wrought by the floods.
According to preliminary estimates of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MFA), the devastating floods have inflicted massive damages