PESHAWAR: The Federal Board of Revenue has announced to defreeze all account of Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organization (PEDO).
The Chief Commissioner announced to defreeze all accounts of the PEDO during a meeting with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak. The meeting was also attended by provincial ministers Muhammad Atif Khan, Mian Jamshedudin, Additional Chief Secretary Azam Khan, Secretaries Finance, Energy & Power and others officials of the relevant departments.
The CM, presiding over the meeting regarding income tax and sales tax issues of PEDO, declared to mutually settle down the tax liability claims for the time-being.
The meeting thoroughly discussed the tax claims by the income tax and the claims of the provincial government about the legal status of the claim. However, the Chief Minister directed the Finance department to release Rs. 400 million to income tax department and the income tax Commissioner immediately announced to defreeze all the accounts of the PEDO.
Pervez Khattak said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had rich traditions and these traditions gave solution to all complicated problems. The beauty of Jirga was to give you a way out to all the problems. The meeting he said turned out to be a Jirga where both the parties tried to convince each other and find out a solution to the tax claim and the provincial government position against it that culminated on a mutually agreed formula, under which, the provincial government would release Rs. 400 million and the income tax department defrozen all the accounts of the PEDO.
The Chief Minister said that the legal battle about the claims and the legal position would continue if both the parties disagreed to settle down the issue out of the court. However, whatever outcome was reached between the two parties then the right and legal way would be adhered.
Pervez Khattak directed the officials of the provincial government to prepare a case to be taken up at a proper forum and he himself would plead the case at that forum to settle down the issue once for all.
The Chief Commissioner Income Tax assured that he would go beyond the defreezing of all accounts of the PEDO and would create more easy way and enable environment to facilitate the provincial government.
