Islamabad: The All Pakistan Transport Owners Federation (APTOF) has urged the federal and provincial governments to provide tax relief for the transport sector, a news source reported. It has asked for reducing toll taxes, exempting token tax for one year, and considering a decrease in token tax rates.
APTOF President Waseem Khokhar stated that almost 70% of workers in the transport sector had lost their jobs in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. He revealed that it was difficult to operate services at a loss.
Khokhar said that the transport sector was ready to reduce fares subject to the government negotiating with the transporters for formulating the required SOPs. He highlighted that resuming services was not viable with a 50% reduction in passengers along with reduced fares.
Earlier, the government had decided to resume inter-city bus services while following the SOPs issued for the transport sector. The government had taken the said decision in order to meet the public’s need for transportation.
