KP govt stopped from taxing industrial power generation

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Thursday stopped the provincial government from tax collection of the industrial units for power generation through generators during loadshedding. A two-member bench comprising PHC Chief Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Ikramullah Khan stopped the Khyber Pakhtun-khwa government from collection of the tax on generators. The bench issued the stay order in a writ petition filed by six textile mills of the province through their lawyer Shumail Ahmad Butt.

During hearing, the petitioners’ lawyer submitted that the country was facing electricity loadshedding, which is why the industries had bought generators for electricity generation. However, he said that the provincial government is going to impose tax on the generators in the industries and thus issued notices to them.

He pointed out that imposing tax on electricity did not come under the ambit of the provincial government as it is under the federal government and secondly the industries were producing electricity from their own resources, not from the government. He said that no such tax was imposed by other provinces. He argued that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is already a terrorism-hit province where majority of the industries were closed and the step by the provincial government would aggravate the situation in the province.

The lawyer requested the court to stop the provincial government from collection of the tax till final order in the petition.