ISLAMABAD: Under the National Action Plan, the government has decided to re-verify 103 million cellphone SIMs in phased-wise plan and agreed to waive off sales tax on replacement of SIMs cards and lowered verification charges of Nadra to Rs10 from the current Rs23.
The decisions were taken at high-level meeting chaired by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar to lessen financial burden of telecommunication operator.
According to an official announcement, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar agreed in principle to waive off sales tax on replacement of SIMs during the period from January 12th to February 28, 2015.
It further stated that National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) would charge only Rs10 for verification of each SIM card, down from Rs23. The meeting also deliberated at length on taking stringent measures to provide security to telcos.
Minister of State for Information Technology Anusha Rehman, Mobile phone operators and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority officials also attended the meeting.
Representatives of various mobile phone companies apprised participants of the meeting about the challenges they were facing regarding the re-verifications process which is part of the National Action Plan aimed at eliminating terrorism. They presented proposals seeking concessions in taxes and charges paid to FBR and NADRA on issuance of SIMs as mandatory under the relevant laws.
The representatives also put forth proposals regarding improvement of the telecom industry which included reduction in the overall taxes from 19.5% to 17% in anticipation of plummeting revenue due to blockage of SIMs. They also requested for provision of legal cover to guard against litigation from customers due to possible blockage of unauthorized SIMs.
Tuesday’s meeting concluded with the resolve that all stakeholders would contribute for the re-verification process of SIMs for the success of the National Action Plan.
