HEC success 15 years tax holiday for High Tech Industries
By Hina Kiyani

ISLAMABAD—The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has been successful in obtaining a 15 years tax holiday to promote new start up companies in strategic areas of biotechnology, nano-technology, composite materials, communication technology and other high tech fields.
The relaxation will facilitate the growth of high-tech industry in the country on the pattern already approved for the IT industry. The Central Board of Revenue has endorsed the proposal in principle while a committee has been proposed to identify the industries eligible for the proposed tax breaks.
This major breakthrough comes in the wake of the Government’s decision to establish nine universities of Engineering, Science and Technology (UESTP) close to major urban and industrial centres of Pakistan. Each university will be a collaborative venture between Pakistan and a technologically advanced country such as Sweden, Austria, Germany, France, South Korea, China and Japan. The universities will produce graduates having equivalent qualifications to those from the partner country.
The unique feature of these UESTPs will be the co-location of technology parks which will serve to attract local and partner country entrepreneurship companies, research and development units, design centres, simulation, analysis and prototype development units and high tech ventures from Pakistani researchers.
The Technology parks will include Innovation Centres and Business Incubators. The universities include in their plan provision of laboratories for research and development, factories for small scale production, centres for software development and software services. The collaborating countries have been asked to identify industrial companies and businesses in their country that may benefit from establishing their overseas operations in Pakistan.
The tax incentive is expected to strengthen education with employment and lead to economic prosperity through the development of High Tech industries in Pakistan.