The federal government has imposed a fixed Federal Excise Duty (FED) of Rs5,000 on air tickets for passengers travelling to Gulf countries on labour visas. The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) issued a notification detailing the new tax on Wednesday.

According to the FBR’s notification, under Clause (i) of Sub-Clause (b) of Serial Number 3 of Table Two of the First Schedule to the Federal Excise Act 2005, a fixed tax of Rs5,000 will be levied on air tickets for Pakistani passengers travelling to Gulf countries on labour visas.

The FBR specified that the labour visa must be printed on the passengers’ passports and verified by the Protector of Emigrants (Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment).

The notification further stated that this fixed excise duty will apply to international travel from Pakistan to Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries for those on labour visas, with the tax being collected per ticket.