ISLAMABAD: The ECC at its meeting held here on Friday under Finance Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar approved a proposal of the Planning, Development and Reform Division at the request of the Government of Punjab to grant exemptions from withholding tax beyond 6% of E&M contract price, and from tax/duties on import of equipment to be installed for the Lahore Orange Line Metro Train Project.
The ECC also decided that a similar dispensation would also be extended to the other rail based mass transit projects in Karachi, Peshawar and Quetta at the appropriate time.
The ECC was informed that the Lahore Orange Line Metro Train Project has been made a part of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) along with rail based mass transit projects in other provincial capitals at the recently concluded 6th Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) meeting held in Beijing, China.
Earlier, the Punjab government had sought Rs20 billion or roughly $195 million as tax exemptions, while citing a similar preferential treatment that is available for the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects. INP/News Desk
