By Matthias Samuel
Have you ever wondered how does the tax apply when you recharge your SIM with a top up? If yes, we have some information to engage you.
Following is the information on tax deduction, and tax charges on charging cards, including Ufone, Zong, Warid, Jazz, and Telenor:
Ufone
Tax deductions on Ufone:
If a Ufone customer loads a balance of Rs 100.
Withholding tax is 12.5%
5% admin fee plus 19.5% Federal Excise Duty (FED) which is 5.98
3% Maintenance Fee Plus 19.5% FED which is 3.59
The total deduction on a Ufone recharge of Rs 100 is Rs 22.07
The balance received by an individual after all the deductions is 77.93
Telenor
Tax deductions on Telenor:
If a Telenor customer loads a balance of Rs 100.
Withholding tax is 12.5% (in case of Rs 100 recharge)
Service charges 7% = Rs 7
General Sales Tax (GST) on remaining Rs 83, 19.5% = Rs 16.19
Total tax= 35.69
Balance received = 64.31
Zong
Tax deductions on Zong:
If a Zong customer loads a balance of Rs 100.
Service Fee 5%= Rs 5
Service Fee + Operational Fee = Rs 10
AIT= 12.28
Operational Fee 5%=5
Sales Tax= 1.95
Balance After all deductions on Rs 100 load= 75.77
Jazz
Tax deductions on Jazz:
If a Jazz customer loads a balance of Rs 100.
Withholding tax is 12.5%
5% service charges plus 19.5% FED which is 5.98
5% operational fee, which is Rs 5
Total deduction on Warid recharge of Rs 100 is Rs 23.48
The balance received by an individual after all the deductions is 76.52
Warid
Tax deduction on Warid:
If a Warid customer loads a balance of Rs 100.
Withholding tax is 12.5%
5% admin fee plus 19.5% FED which is 5.98
5% service charges= 5
Total deduction on Warid recharge of Rs 100 is Rs 23.48
The balance received by an individual after all the deductions is 76.52
Back in the day, there was no significant taxation on the recharges or top-ups, but in recent times due to extreme tax policies, Govt has forced Telecom Industry to collect as much tax as possible since Telecom has been an emerging market in Pakistan from 2010 to 2018. Now almost 25% of the top up goes to waste and further tax is also applied to the calls made outside of the network.
