Sharply reacting to the Central Board of Revenue's reported move to impose 15 percent GST on software exports the Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Defence and member Standing Committee on Finance, Senator Nisar Ahmed Memon said he will fully oppose any such decision.
Addressing the Faculty members and students during a 3-hour visit to Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology here on Thursday, the Senator said that Pakistan was made to suffer in the field of IT in the 70s when a ban was imposed on import of computers and now the same thing was being repeated through reported imposition of GST on software exports.
"It would be a wrong decision which he would oppose tooth and nail", the Senator said adding that he would ask CBR to refrain from taking any such decision which may prove fatal to IT industry.
He pointed out that India taxed its IT products last year but Pakistan should not follow Indian's example on two counts - one their exports ran into multi-billion dollars and second competitiveness and Pakistan don't have the both.
In Pakistan's IT policy, he said, the export target had been kept at multi-billion dollars while a State Bank report said that Pakistan's software exports stood at 50 million dollars while unofficial statistics keep it at 300 million dollars ie half a billion dollars which is still far behind the multi-billion dollars target. If CBR imposes GST, the target, whatever achieved to date, will go down, he cautioned.
He referred to a survey carried out by a Californian newspaper "Commerce Time" which, he said, reported that imposition of tax by Indians had brought Indian software exports down. In its report, the paper said that it would provide an opportunity to Pakistan to capture a share of export market.
But, if the news about imposition of GST by CBR is trues then it will have adverse affect, Nisar Memon observed.
The Chairman Senate Defence Committee, while dilating upon Pakistan's future in IT sector, called for effective Human Resource and Infrastructure development with emphasis on Research and Development and Services.
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