Govt taxes laborers going to Gulf countries

Islamabad: The federal government has imposed tax on laborers going to Gulf countries from Pakistan.

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has issued Statutory Regulatory Orders (SRO) in which it has decided to levy excise duty.

According to the notification, an excise duty of Rs5,000 has been levied on air tickets of workers going to Gulf countries. The excise duty will be collected from those traveling on worker visas.

FBR officials said that Rs5,000 per ticket will be charged as a fixed amount. The tax will be levied on labor visas certified by the Immigration and Overseas Employment Bureau.

It is pertinent to note that the said tax will be collected from the workers going to the Gulf countries of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Iraq, Kuwait, and others from Pakistan.