KP govt approves excise duty on minerals for miners

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has given approval to the imposition of excise duty on minerals for miners, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

The bill introduced by the KP government stated that Rs150 million funds extracted from the annual income from mining will be spent on the welfare of the labourers.

It read that the excise duty will be collected from mine owners under the new law. It also defined the imposition of fines up to Rs50,000 and a three-month jail term in case of violating the law.

Following the approval of the law, the miners will be given basic facilities including medical treatment, health insurance cards, funds for private educational institutions and financial assistance.

READ: BODIES OF MINERS GONE MISSING IN 2011 FOUND FROM KOHAT

It further mentioned that a board will be constituted to look after the matters related to the miners.

Earlier in January last year, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had decided to issue mining licences in the merged tribal districts.

According to the decision taken by the KP government, only the locals can apply online for obtaining the mineral licences under the provincial Mineral Sector Governance Amendment Act 2019.

He had announced that the KP government is committed to providing maximum facilities to the people of tribal districts.