NBR grants tax benefits to 3 sectors

The government has provided tax benefits to three sectors, namely leather, asset management, and research, to boost competitiveness and foreign currency earnings.
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) issued three separate statutory regulatory orders (SROs) to that end last Thursday. 

The source tax on the export of leather goods, including leather, has been halved to 0.5 percent. 

Meanwhile, a 15 percent tax payable by asset management companies on their income from mutual fund management fees, which was set to expire at the end of this fiscal year (FY), has been extended till FY2026-27. 

The companies had paid at the rate of 37.5 percent till 2013 before the NBR reduced it to 15 percent. 

The extension was granted based on an application from the Association of Asset Management Companies and Mutual Funds (AAMCMF), according to NBR sources.

Welcoming the move, the AAMCMF said NBR has shown a strong commitment to supporting the institutional fund management industry and, through it, the broader capital market, according to press release, which was signed by Hasan Imam, president of AAMCMF and Waqar Ahmad Choudhury, vice-president of AAMCMF.

"The institutional fund management and mutual fund industry pledges to keep its commitment to better serve our investors and promote the capital markets," it said. 

Moreover, a three-year tax exemption, meaning till FY2026-27, was allowed on foreign grants availed by local researchers. 

Researchers currently pay taxes of up to 30 percent on foreign grants. 

The NBR asked researchers to apply for a certificate acknowledging the tax exemption.