Mine owners resent taxes collected by TMAs

By Bureau report
December 19, 2024
A representational image showing tax written on a calculator. — AFP/File
A representational image showing tax written on a calculator. — AFP/File

PESHAWAR: Frontier Mine Owners Association of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has criticized taxes imposed by the Local Government (LG) through the Tehsil Municipal Administrations (TMAs) on the mining sector.

Speaking at a press conference at the Peshawar Press Club, the association President Sher Bandi Khan Marwat, General Secretary Uzair Tanoli, and members Bilal Khan and Najaf Khan said the mine owners were already paying all required taxes under existing mineral laws. They rejected any additional taxes imposed by other entities.

They alleged that TMAs were illegally collecting taxes on minerals in collusion with certain officials.The mine owners reminded that the provincial government had abolished these taxes in 2016 and that when taxes were reintroduced in 2022, the Supreme Court had struck them down. Despite this, TMAs continued to impose these taxes under different names.

They pointed out that TMAs provided no facilities to miners, yet they continued to charge “service taxes” on vehicles transporting minerals.The mine owners emphasized that miners did not use TMA roads or facilities, making these taxes unjustified. The association accused the TMAs of openly violating the Supreme Court’s decision and creating further difficulties for the mining sector.

They said the Local Government rules prohibited imposing taxes on raw minerals. Taxes should be collected from industrial estates, local traders, and businesses, instead of harming the mining sector.

The mine owners noted that the mining sector supported the construction industry, which was earning PKR 380 billion annually. They added that the provincial government collected about Rs 20 billion in taxes from the mining and minerals sector each year.

The Frontier Mine Owners Association urged the KP government, the secretary of Local Government, and other senior officials to halt these “illegal” taxes and support the mining sector.They warned that if their demands were not met, over 550,000 workers and mine owners would be forced to go on strike.