Conducting a high-level committee meeting, government has accepted three main demands of cellular companies. It includes industry status, suspension of 12.5 percent withholding tax, and grant/auction of additional spectrum. The committee was established on the instruction of the prime minister to discourse the issues of cellular mobile operators and verbalize commendations for onward submission to the Prime Minister’s Office. Although the telecom sector was given industry status in 2004, but the notification was not executed for the last 16 years, thus the committee has suggested the Ministry of Industries and Production to inform the industry status for the telecom sector. The Ministry of Industries and Production has agreed to the proposal that the telecom sector should be given functional industry status. Moreover, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has been asked to work it out for the telecom sector, while treating it as telecom industry. The committee has recommended to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to consider the recommendation for execution. The telecom operators showed serious interest in additional spectrum auction in Pakistan, Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) to empower quality mobile broadband services to assist people especially students and professionals to work from home under Covid-19. Howbeit, few issues have been popped up addressing in different concerned departments related to policy matters. The endorsements of these would be finalised by the federal cabinet soon.
