Private educational institutions in Islamabad charging low fee must be exempted from tax, says a regulatory body. Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (PEIRA), Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training, suggested in a statement that the concerned authorities must not receive municipal/professional tax from those private schools in the federal capital, which are charging up to Rs5,000 monthly fee from students. The statement said the management of low fee charging private educational institutions are receiving notices from the municipal authorities for charging municipal/professional taxes. The notices warned the private schools of legal action in case they failed to comply with tax notices.

After receiving notices, the management of private educational institutions requested PEIRA for exemption from tax. They said low fee is received from children to serve the community, and they hardly manage to meet the operational expenses of institutions. The PEIRA regulates private educational institutions in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) under the ICT-PEIRA Act, 2013, and charges regulatory fee, as per rules. The private educational institutions charging fee up to Rs5,000 are categorised as low fee charging institutions. “Therefore, these schools need favourable consideration by the municipal authorities, and their request for exemption of municipal/professional tax is forwarded for consideration,” the statement mentioned. Commenting on the matter, President Private Schools Network (PSN) Dr. Afzal Babar appreciated this initiative of PEIRA, and stated that it will benefit around 80% of private schools in the federal capital.

He said these schools are not only fulfilling the gap created by the Federal Directorate of Education, but also competing with the public sector schools in achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) on self-help basis. Dr. Afzal said these small private schools are helping the government in achieving 100% literacy rate in the federal capital. He commended the efforts of PEIRA for looking after the matters of private educational institutions in an efficient manner. Dr. Afzal said PEIRA had been making sincere efforts to facilitate the private schools. He said the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and other federal institutions had imposed many taxes on low-fee schools, which need to be abolished.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk