ISLAMABAD: Despite the Supreme Court’s orders, the federal government’s inflexible reaction on the gas infrastructure development cess (GIDC) has disappointed the concerned industrialists, who believed in the PML-N’s business friendly administration.
The federal government had collected the cess from Rs50 per mmbtu to Rs100 per mmbtu in its first budget, and then to Rs200 per mmbtu in the current budget. According to the sources in ministry of petroleum and natural resources, the government has collected over Rs100 billion so far, which will be used to keep down the fiscal deficit to meet the IMF’s requirement. Almost 4,000 companies have reportedly filed cases against the GIDC since its induction.
The apex court had declared the GIDC a fee in August and ruled that it couldn’t be levied through a money bill, adding that the government must refund the amount collected as GIDC so far. However, the government has requested a review of the decision.
Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have already opposed the implementation of the GIDC. The PTI has unsuccessfully tried to block the clearance of the GIDC Bill 2014 by a standing committee of the National Assembly. Different exporters, importers and industrialists have raised their concerned over the government’s stance on GIDC.
The previous government had introduced the GIDC in December 2011 to raise funds for importing gas from Iran and Turkmenistan through pipelines, and to build an LNG terminal at Port Qasim.
