ISLAMABAD: The finance minister has announced levy of additional Federal Excise Duty (FED) at the rate of Rs0.75 “after every five minutes” of mobile phone calls.

The industry has lodged a protest to the government on the proposed increase in tax, as a five-minute mobile call that currently costs around Rs1.97 will be charged at Rs2.72 once the new FED is implemented.

Jazz CEO Aamir Ibrahim has expressed disappointment over the imposition of 40 per cent duty on the price conscious customers who do not own a smartphone or WhatsApp to make calls. “I urge the government to reverse this “anti-poor” tax,” Mr Ibrahim said.

Telecom experts have pointed out that the hardest hit by the additional FED on cellular calls will certainly be those from the low-income groups such as labourers, guards, watchmen, drivers and daily wage earners who live far from their families to earn their livelihoods.

“These long calls almost on a daily basis are essential to maintain the social fabric of the family system. And the second category of callers who make long duration calls are mostly housewives who stay connected with their relatives and fellow housewives,” he said, adding that it was natural and “essential for the overall mental wellbeing of people who have sufficient free time”.

According to PTA data, there are 183 million cellular subscribers in the country and 98 million of them use mobile broadband/internet, while 85 million have access to only basic voice calls.