Pak approves tax relief for Gwadar port

Islamabad: The federal cabinet has approved legislative changes to address a longstanding issue of tax concessions for Gwadar Port and Gwadar Free Zone.
The move came, earlier this week, just days before Prime Minister Imran Khan’s departure for a three-day visit to China on Monday, where he would discuss with the Chinese leadership several affairs, including the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and the Kashmir dispute, The Express Tribune reported.
The amendment made to settle the three-year-old issue with China came after a push from the National Development Council (NDC) that is chaired by the prime minister and Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa is its member.
The government is expected to promulgate a presidential ordinance to bring these legal changes as the National Assembly is currently not in session.
The new tax concessions will be limited to only the Gwadar zone as the government has been unable to finalize a tax incentive package for the prioritized Special Economic Zones (SEZs) that are being set up under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
“The federal cabinet has approved legislative changes to grant tax concessions to Gwadar Free Zone and Gwadar Port,” said Khusro Bakhtiar, Federal Minister for Planning and Development.