Reko Diq company exempted from capital value tax
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has exempted all assets of the Reko Diq gold and copper mining company from capital value tax, which is payable by individuals, firms and companies that acquire an asset by purchase or a right to use for more than 20 years. The exemption on assets of the Reko Diq Mining Company Limited, formerly Tethyan Copper Company Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd, will come into effect immediately. The government has set Dec 15 for the complete revival of the multibillion-dollar project. The decision was implemented through SRO 2200 to exempt the project assets from the capital value tax. However, Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo has said all provincial taxes would remain effective on the project. “We have not transferred any of our power to the federal government and also not waived off any of our tax on the Reko Diq project,” he told reporters in Quetta on Tuesday. On Friday, the Supreme Court of Pakistan also gave its go-ahead for the revival of the Reko Diq project by announcing a short order on a presidential reference pertaining to the validity of the fresh settlement deal between two international firms — Barrick Gold Corporation and Antofagasta PLC — and the government aimed at warding off the $10 billion looming in arbitration penalties on Pakistan.