The federal government has announced the annual budget for the financial year 2023-2024. While it includes little to no announcements for tech or telecom-related products or services, there is good news for freelancers and gadget lovers.
According to exclusive government documents available with ProPakistani, there will be no sales tax for laptops, personal computers, notebooks, computer parts and other related devices.
The same goes for some parts of lithium batteries which are used in a wide range of electronic devices such as smartphones, laptops, appliances, and dozens of other products.
Software exporters registered with Pakistan Software Export Board will have a concession on the assessed value of the imported goods equivalent to 1% of their export proceeds of the previous financial year subject to the conditions:
(i) Pakistan Software Export Board shall certify that the imported goods are bona fide requirements for their own use of the Software exporter; and
(ii) Export proceeds shall also be certified by the Pakistan Software Export Board (Explanation: Concession equivalent to 1% of the export proceeds of the preceding Financial Year on the assessed value of the imported goods may be availed on one or multiple consignments during the financial year but cumulatively it will not exceed 1% of the export proceeds.)
This means we can expect local prices for these gadgets to improve, at least for the time being.
Source: Pro Pakistani