ISLAMABAD: The finance bill has proposed that Rs1 per call if the duration exceeds three minutes, Rs5 per GB for internet usage and 10 paisa on each SMS has been imposed, which will be in addition to the existing rates.

After the strong criticism of the government for making internet usage, call and SMS costlier Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar denied that additional duties have been imposed on telecom and the data usage.

In his tweet the minister said, “The PM and Cabinet did not approve the FED levy on internet data usage. It will not be included in the final draft of the Finance Bill (budget) that is placed before parliament for approval.”

The information minister told repoters that the increase mentioned in the budget document was an oversight, because the cabinet had not approved it. He made it clear that no tax has been imposed on data use.

Amir Ibrahim in his tweet, CEO Jazz, said that the additional levy on internet is detrimental to “Digital Pakistan” journey.

Howver, he praised Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin for reducing the FED, that has been reduced from 17 per cent to 16pc, which is the standard rate for all sectors.

Mr Tarin in his budget speech announced that the federal excise duty on the telecom sector has been rationalised.