Federal govt restores seven CPEC powerplants’ tax exemption

Gwadar: The federal government has restored the tax exemption for the seven power plants currently being developed under the China-Pakistan-Economic-Corridor (CPEC) project, news sources reported on June 7. The formal announcement of the tax exemption will be made in the budget announcement scheduled for June 10. 

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Reportedly, the following powerplants have been exempted from tax duties on the import of heavy machinery: 

• Kohala Hydro Company (Private) Limited – with a generation capacity of 1,124 MW (date of IA execution: May 25, 2020)  
• Azad Pattan (Private) Limited – with a generation capacity of 700.7 MW (date of IA execution July 6, 2020 
• SK Hydro (Private) Limited – with a generation capacity of 870.25 MW (date of IA execution: April 11, 2014). 
• CHIC Pak Power Company (Pvt) Limited – with a generation capacity of 300 MW (date of execution: April 8, 2021). 
• Thal Nova Power Thar (Private) Limited – with a generation capacity of 330 MW (date of IA execution November 24, 2017) 
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• Thar Energy Limited – with a generation capacity of 330 MW (date of IA execution November 10, 2017) 
• Thar Coal Block-1 Power Generation Company (Private) Limited – with a generation capacity of 1,320 MW (date of IA execution: December 12, 2019. 
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However, the government has instructed companies to meet the following criteria in order to avail the tax exemption status: 

• The company shall enter into an Implementation Agreement (IA) with GOP
• The contractor shall submit a copy of the contract or agreement under which he intends to import the goods for the project. 
• The chief executive or head of the contracting company shall certify that the imported goods are the project’s bona fide requirement.