After introducing a tax amnesty scheme, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government has decided to extend a similar program to owners of smuggled vehicles in some parts of the country.
Prime Minister Imran Khan disclosed the decision at a session of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa cabinet.
K-P Revenue Minister Shakil Ahmed briefed the premier on tax collection in the province.
The minister, during the special briefing, pointed out that hundreds of thousands of non-customs paid smuggled vehicles were in use in Malakand Division and the former tribal districts, and recommended that the government provide a one-time amnesty scheme to their owners.
The prime minister, upon hearing the suggestion, informed participants that the government has decided to extend an amnesty scheme for non-customs paid vehicles in all merged tribal districts, Malakand Division and Balochistan, the officials said.
According to another high official, who participated in the meeting, public agitation has made it difficult for authorities to carry out action against non-customs paid vehicles, even though the residents of merged tribal districts and Malakand were given a five-year exemption in taxes.
The official said the government has prepared a gradual tax collection program for these areas to improve revenue generation, but non-customs paid vehicles to remain a big stumbling block. More than 500,000 such vehicles are on the roads of Malakand alone, a senior K-P finance department official said, citing official statistics.
