During Budget 2022-23, the federal government increased taxes on various items, including optical fiber, used by telecom companies. Thus, the telecom operators warned the citizens to be prepared for phone call load shedding after the increase in taxes. Phone class load shedding will be like lightning when there are no signals at scheduled times.
However, telecom companies recently attended a meeting in which they talked about tax increases and made suggestions. During the meeting, the representatives of the companies informed that the government has increased the tax on the import of fiber optic cable by 15%. However, the duty has been increased by 20%. The representative clarified that Pakistan’s telecom companies are facing many challenges. Now this increase in taxes has put a huge burden on the industry.
Regarding the current situation, telecom companies said that if the government did not reduce taxes, we would lose global connectivity. He also said that only 10% of the towers in the country have optical cable connectivity.
Thus, after all this, the telecom industry suggested reducing the tax on cable imports to 8%. However, the committee assured the companies that they would send their suggestions to the government.
It is hoped that the government will take this issue seriously and resolve it as soon as possible. Otherwise, the country may face load shedding phone calls after power outages.