‘Every company should pay 16pc of profit to PRA’

LAHORE:Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) Chairman Zain-ul-Abidin Sahi said that every company should pay 16 percent of their profit to Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) to generate revenue for the well-being of Punjab. Addressing a seminar organised by Pakistan China Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCJCCI) Wednesday on "Role of Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) in the business community and awareness regarding Tax on Services”, he said that the Punjab government established a semi-autonomous organisation PRA to collect and enforce sales tax on services. It has also enacted the Punjab Sales Tax on Services Act, 2012 in supersession of the Punjab Sales Tax Ordinance, 2000 (as amended from time to time), he said.

To begin with, Punjab has kept the tax coverage only to the 14 categories but now it has reached 68 services covered under the repeated ordinance; hotels, restaurants, beauty salons, construction, courier service, dress designers, doctors and telecommunication etc, he added.

He said that the private and public withholding tax system was very important for awareness of the business community, who did not keep adequate information regarding this particular section. Every company has to pay 16 percent of their part to PRA for generating revenue for well-being of the Punjab, he said.

President of PCJCCI Zarak Khan in his address said that the provincial tax system in Pakistan was more or less based on a colonial legacy. The 21st century has seen a visible change in the governance patterns at national as well as at sub-national levels especially in the developing countries, he said, adding that reforms in tax regimes had been initiated as an important component of overall fiscal economic reforms. In this regard, Pakistan has also suitably modified its fiscal federalism, under which public service responsibilities of the provincial governments have been expanded along with creation of several prudent opportunities for the provinces to mobilise their own resources, he said and assured of taking efforts to make PCJCCI an effective bridge between business community and the government. He said that PCJCCI was keen to set up tax facilitation centre for the Chinese business community working in Pakistan.

Senior Vice-President PCJCCI Moazzam Ghurki said that businessmen came to know about new sales tax on services two and a half years ago because of PRA’s field efforts. We should respect PRA’s work because they are trying to generate revenue for the prosperity of Punjab. He said that PCJCCI initiated to conduct this session to spread awareness among the business community and young entrepreneurs regarding the PRA working.