Pre-paid calling cards: of every Rs 100, Rs 31 goes to FBR!

Out of every Rs 100 pre-paid calling card, Rs 31 is paid as tax to the Federal Board of Revenue. This was disclosed by the representatives of mobile phone operators during a meeting of the sub-committee of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology, here Thursday.
According to senior officials of telecom operators, out of Rs 100 pre-paid calling card, Rs 31 goes to the exchequer in the form of federal excise duty and withholding tax. Before a caller makes any call, this amount is deducted and deposited in the national kitty, they added. "We are paying 19.5 percent FED and withholding tax on every call," one of the senior tax advisors of mobile phone cos said.
One of the CEOs of the telecom operators pointed out that whenever you make a phone call from one operator to another, it is liable to 19.5 percent FED. The waiver of tax on interconnection charges was only a procedural issue without causing any revenue loss to the exchequer, he added.