KARACHI: K-Electric, the sole power distribution company of Karachi, has sent bills with fixed taxes of Rs6,000 to more than 490,000 traders of the metropolis.
The Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has rejected the bills issued by the KE.
Businessmen Group (BMG) Chairman Zubair Motiwala said the power company did not take traders into confidence before issuing the bills. He said the traders had agreed to the fixed tax, but not in that manner.
Zubair Motiwala said the trader who did not open his shop was also issued the taxes.
“No electricity supplying company has sent such a bill anywhere in the country, but KE did,” he said adding that taxes were applied from July 1, so how the tax could be applied in June.
He said he was collecting commercial bills from all over the country.
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As per the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA), the number of registered commercial meters in the country was Rs3,843,847 and Multan was on top of the list with 0.6 million commercial meters.
On July 20, All Pakistan City Traders Association had termed the government’s ruling of implementation of the fixed tax on retailers as a ‘cruel’ act in current challenging economic times.
During a meeting, the businessmen and traders had denied complying with the newly imposed tax regime and had further announced a Pakistan-level meeting against the decision.
Chairman All City Traders Association Sharjeel Goplani had accused the government and Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) of further destroying Pakistan’s economy which was already in a detrimental condition.
They had urged the government to roll back its decision to implement the new taxes regime on retailers. They had further suggested that the government and FBR should take taxes from the retailers based on the area and volume of business.
Goplani had further demanded a meager amount between Rs500 to Rs2000 from non-filers. He had further demanded that at least 40% of the total tax collected from certain locality must be spent on health, education and employment generation initiatives.
