Airfares Increase as
Pakistan Government Slaps 5000 Rupee Tax on Pakistan-UAE Flights
Around
1.7 million South Asian nationals live and work in the UAE
·
More
than 13.53 million Pakistanis have gone abroad through official procedures to work
in over 50 countries until April 2024.
Pakistan
has imposed a fixed federal excise duty of Rs5,000 (Dh66) on airfares for blue-collar
workers flying to the UAE and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, which
will further increase the cost of flights for the workers.
This
was announced by the Federal Board of Revenue of Pakistan in a notification issued
last week.
The
notification stated that a fixed amount of Rs5,000 per ticket will be collected
“from the passengers holding labour visa printed on their passports duly verified
by the Protector of Emigrants (Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment) embarking
on an international journey from Pakistan to Gulf Co-operation Council Countries
(GCC)".
The
UAE-Pakistan air corridor has been one of the busiest due to a large number of South
Asian nationals living in the Emirates. Airfares in UAE-Pakistan are usually on
the higher side already due to a shortage of seat availability. A three-hour flight
from Pakistani cities to the UAE often costs more than the same-hour flights from
neighbouring countries.
This
new taxation will further strain the blue-collar workers’ meagre earnings as they
make up the largest chunk of people migrated from the South Asian country.
“This
is an additional burden on workers like me. It may sound like a small amount in
UAE dirhams, but Rs5,000 is a fairly decent amount for poor workers coming from
remote areas of Pakistan in search of a better financial future. These blue-collar
workers are also the largest source of remittances to Pakistan. The government must
think twice when making such decisions,” said Ali Ahmed, who came to UAE as a labourer
but is now working as an assistant at a private company.
Currently,
five Pakistani and four UAE carriers operate between the two countries.
The
decision to levy fixed federal excise duty comes as the Pakistan government increased
duty on Business Class air tickets by Rs30,000 to Rs105,000 to UAE, GCC and other
Middle Eastern countries from July 1, 2024.
Over
the past few years, there has been a mass exodus of people from the South Asian
country due to a lack of jobs, high inflation and political instability forcing
them to look for jobs outside of the country.
The
GCC countries include the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait. This
region houses the highest number of Pakistani diaspora.
In
2023 to 2024, the GCC countries were the top destinations as a total of 862,625
people of the South Asian community went abroad globally for livelihood.
Saudi
Arabia was the top destination as 426,951 Pakistanis went to the kingdom for jobs,
the data showed, which was published in Pakistan Economic Survey 2023-24.
Around
1.7 million South Asian nationals live and work in the UAE. In 2023-24, 230,000
Pakistanis migrated to the UAE for greener pastures.
Oman
employed 60,046 Pakistani workers, accounting for 7 per cent, while Qatar offered
jobs to 55,112 individuals. Bahrain and Malaysia hosted 13,345 and 20,905 workers,
respectively.
More
than 13.53 million Pakistanis have gone abroad through official procedures to work
in over 50 countries until April 2024. About 96 per cent of Pakistani registered
workers for overseas employment in Gulf Cooperation Council countries, especially
Saudi Arabia and the UAE. They contribute to the development of Pakistan's economy
by sending remittances, the primary source of foreign exchange after exports.