When compared to the $198 million recorded in May 2021, Pakistan’s Information Technology (IT) exports, which include telecommunication, computer, and information services, fell by 8% to $183 million in May 2022. Additionally, April’s export total is the lowest since February 2021.
According to data released on Tuesday by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the country’s exports of information technology reached an all-time high of $2.381 billion during the first eleven months (July–May) of the current fiscal year 2021–22, up by 26% from $1.898 billion during the same period in 2020–21.
But in May 2022, compared to $249 million in April 2022, exports plummeted by a staggering 26% on a monthly basis.
Syed Amin-Ul-Haque, the minister of information technology and telecommunications, has said that various laws of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and policies of the Federal Board of Revenue are impeding the expansion of the nation’s IT exports.
The IT Ministry has reportedly set an export goal of $5 billion for the next fiscal year, subject to the settlement of unresolved concerns with the FBR and the SBP. The government is concerned about issues including incentives for independent contractors and withholding tax.
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