Quaid-e-Azam Mazar Board Gets Tax Exemption
Pakistan has decided to exempt the income of the Quaid-e-Azam Mazar Management Board from tax after 58 years.
The proposed exemption is part of the Finance Bill 2026.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb is expected to present the bill before the National Assembly for approval.
The proposal was finalised by the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance, headed by PPP lawmaker Syed Naveed Qamar.
The committee has also recommended adding more organisations to the list of tax-exempt entities.
These include the Make-a-Wish Foundation, provincial employees’ social security institutions, and Workers Welfare Fund organisations.
The government had initially proposed five organisations for exemption. The committee added four more, including the Quaid-e-Azam Mazar Management Board.
Traders Allowed to Exit Fixed Tax Scheme
The committee has also proposed allowing traders to leave the optional fixed income tax regime from tax year 2027.
The government had introduced the fixed tax scheme for traders with turnover of up to Rs200 million.
Under the scheme, traders could pay one percent of sales as income tax, with a minimum annual payment of Rs25,000.
In return, they would receive exemption from audit and become part of the digital economy.
However, the committee has now proposed that traders should be allowed to opt out of the final tax regime when filing their tax returns for 2027 and onward.
The committee also approved exemptions on sales tax for wheat and rice bran.
It rejected a proposal to impose late payment surcharges on oil marketing companies for delayed petroleum levy deposits.
Import Duties on Cars Slashed
The committee has proposed major cuts in import taxes on cars of up to 2,000cc.
Under the proposal, maximum import taxes on such vehicles will fall from 156 percent to 74 percent.
The move is expected to make several imported cars cheaper.
For vehicles between 1,500cc and 1,800cc, combined tariffs may fall from 91 percent to 57 percent.
For 1,000cc to 1,500cc vehicles, duties may drop from 76 percent to 52 percent.
For vehicles up to 850cc, bikes and vehicle bodies, tariffs may fall from 66 percent to 42 percent.
However, higher taxes will continue on larger vehicles. Imported vehicles of 2,000cc and above will face 86 percent federal excise duty. Vehicles above 3,000cc will face a 92 percent tax rate.
The committee also approved Rs30 per unit sales tax on the steel sector and allowed mobile phone taxes to be paid in instalments within one year.
