‘Rs18b tax relief for affected sectors’

LAHORE:Punjab Finance Minister Hashim Jawan Bakht on Monday said that the provincial government had given Rs18 billion tax relief package to the sectors affected due to Covid-19.

The minister stated that during the briefing session on Punjab Tax Relief Package, the GST on services on the medical consultant and hospital had been suspended, besides suspending the tax from construction services in order to keep the wheel of the economy moving.

The Punjab government deferred property tax and development cess from urban immovable property, reduced the CVT and stamp duty taxes to 2 percent on the property transactions to incentivise the real estate and construction sectors for employment generation and direly needed stimulus to the national economy.

In order to provide relief to the general public during the lockdown, the Punjab government also brought the GST on service tax rate to zero from online platforms to incentivise them and the people.

Similarly, businesses and services related to Human Resource (HR) development also brought down to zero rates. The businesses closed to reduce the cost of resuming the business activity are also included in this category.

The finance minister said that the government would also cater to the needs of the sector affected due to covid-19 in the next fiscal year by incentivising them and for employment generation and economic activities.