Solar panels, medicines to get cheaper

ISLAMABAD: And under the fiscal budget for 2022-23, the prices of medicines and solar panels are likely to be slashed. While presenting the budget, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said that the country was facing an acute shortage of energy, while the hike in fuel prices had made thermal energy more expensive.

He further said that under such a scenario, eco-friendly energy is the best way forward and, therefore, the government has proposed to exempt sales tax on the import as well as the local supply of solar panels.

In addition, the finance minister announced that consumers using less than 200 units of electricity will be provided with loans in easy instalments from banks for the purchase of solar panels, which will enable them to obtain electricity in an environmentally-friendly manner while reducing the use of imported expensive oil and gas.

During the budget speech, Miftah also said that more than 30 active pharmaceutical ingredients (essential ingredients for any medicine) have been given complete exemption from customs duty for the pharmaceutical sector. In addition, the raw material for the manufacturing of first aid bandages has been exempted from customs duty so that its production cost can be further reduced.