In a historic move, several incentives have been approved by Prime MinisterImran Khan to facilitate the IT/ITES Sector, freelancers, and startups.
Tax Exemption benefits, which were the biggest demand of the sector, andother fiscal and non-fiscal incentives for the industry were proposed byMoITT.
“I am very grateful to Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan and FederalMinister for Finance & Revenue Mr. Shaukat Tareen for unprecedented andunconditional support to IT/ITES sector and Freelancers in the country.”This was stated by Federal Minister for IT & Telecom Syed Amin Ul Haquehere on Tuesday.
Syed Amin-Ul-Haque also congratulated the IT sector on Tax exemption reliefby the PM. He further elaborated that aggressive growth targets and timelyinterventions by the Federal Government have set all the stakeholders onthe same pace to meet the desired business potential and compete in theinternational market.
The approval was made in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan onTuesday, 22nd February. Officials of the Ministry of IT &Telecommunication, the Pakistan Software Export Board, State Bank ofPakistan, Federal Board of Revenue, Special Technology Zone Authority, andIgnite National Technology Fund were also present in the meeting.
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The long outstanding issue of IT companies regarding easy inflow/outflow ofForeign Currency has also been addressed as Specialized Foreign Currencyaccounts for IT/ITES Companies and Freelancers will be introduced to meettheir operational needs. In a historic move, PM has directed to allowIT/ITES Companies and Freelancers to retain 100 percent amount ofremittances received through proper banking channels in FCY Accountswithout any compulsion to convert them into PKR.
Furthermore, there will be no restriction of outward remittances from FCYaccounts for PSEB registered IT Companies and Freelancers. Prime Ministerhas also directed SBP to introduce Financing streams for the IT/ITES sectorand Freelancers keeping in view operational architecture and industry needsfor these sectors.
Recommendations of the Pakistan Technology Startup Fund were also approvedby the Prime Minister as part of this historic package for the creation ofa public-private partnership venture capital fund. Ignite NationalTechnology Fund will create this Fund through public-private partnerships.link
