RCCI Urges Govt to Withdraw Tax on Electricity Bills

News Desk 

Rawalpindi: Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) has called on the government to withdraw the tax imposed on electricity bills due to the escalating expenses.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday, RCCI President Saqib Rafiq voiced strong concerns regarding the increasing costs linked to private power plants and Independent Power Producers (IPPs). 

The RCCI has also raised alarms about the high profits of these IPPs, the increasing cost of electricity, and the growing financial burden on businesses.

In response to these challenges, the RCCI has called on the government to take urgent action by withdrawing the tax imposed on electricity bills, said President Rafiq. 

The chamber argues that this move is crucial to alleviate the financial pressures faced by businesses and to address the broader issue of rising operational costs.

It is to mention here that the RCCI demand comes amid widespread apprehension within the business community regarding the sustainability of current energy policies and their impact on economic activities. 

The chamber is seeking immediate government intervention to renegotiate terms with IPPs and to provide relief on electricity charges to support local businesses struggling with high energy costs. Chamber President Saqib Rafiq said that at present the business community and the common man are very worried about electricity bills. We are giving an SOS call to the government. It is high time for the government to feel the pain and demand that the agreements made with the independent power producers (IPPs) should be revised.

The government is paying more than Rs 2.3 trillion to the IPPs in terms of capacity charges, the additional payment of 580 billion rupees should be audited, he added.

Group leader Sohail Altaf said that the business community and the salaried class have been taxed so much that people have lost their savings and have zero purchasing power. It is very unfortunate that the budget was consulted by people who have no knowledge of the ground realities.

 The real stakeholders were neither consulted nor taken on board and added that that is why the Tajir Dost Scheme was not successful, he added. The government should take immediate steps otherwise the situation will go out of control. 

There should not be any kind of tax on the electricity bill, he demanded. Senior Vice President Muhammad Hamza Sarosh while sharing the historical data said that transparency was not kept in the agreements in terms of installed capacity charges, and added that instead of taking Rupee and Pakistani inflation numbers they took the dollar and US inflation numbers.

Former presidents Asad Mashadi and Raja Amir Iqbal reiterated the demand for immediate audit and accountability of IPPs and said that transparency should be brought in the deals made with private power plants. 

The high cost of electricity in Pakistan has made our exports less competitive in the open market.  Usman Shaukat said that alternative sources of energy should be popularized and the wheeling model should be adopted like the rest of the world.