The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources has decided to stop collecting Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC) from those industrial units, which were not paying it under the pervious GIDC Act, till a special committee finalises its report on GIDC anomalies for parliament.
Through a letter written to Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) and Sui Southern Gas Company limited (SSGCL), the ministry has informed both the gas utilities that while approving the GIDC Bill, 2015, the house has constituted a special committee to monitor the implementation of the GIDC Act, 2015. The special committee will make its recommendations for removing anomalies, if any, and will present its report within three months.
The letter further stated: "The GIDC is already recovered under the previous Law from certain consumers while the same is yet to be recovered from some consumers which needs to be decided by the said committee. Consumers may be asked to submit their petitions/requests to the committee directly for a decision in this respect. It further pointed out that section 8(1) & (2) of the GIDC Act, 2015 provides that the said cess shall not be collected from industrial sector, excluding Fertiliser Fuel Stock, mentioned at S.No.3 of the second schedule to both the Gas Infrastructure Development Cess Act, 2011 (XXI of 2011) and the Gas Infrastructure Development Ordinance, 2014 (VI of 2014), if it has not been collected by it.
Citing other clauses of GIDC Act and Ordinance, the ministry said that it has been decided not to recover the cess from industrial sector from which it has not been collected under the previous laws till the submission of the special committee''s recommendations to the parliament.