FBR forms seven-member committee to settle GB tax issue

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Wednesday formed a seven-member committee to make recommendations for resolving the ongoing tax dispute, as traders in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) continued their sit-in for a tenth consecutive day. Traders, affiliated with Pakistan-China trade through Khunjerab Pass, have been protesting at the Sost Dry Port and blocking the Karakoram Highway, the land route between Pakistan and China, demanding an end to what they call federal taxes on goods imported from China. The protests, which have paralysed trade and travel through the Khunjerab Pass, began over what traders describe as discriminatory FBR policies and the non-clearance of consignments imported from China. Protesters are demanding exemption for GB residents from paying sales tax, income tax, and other federal taxes on goods imported from China.