No new duties would be imposed on solar panels to ensure common people’s access to renewable solar energy, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Tuesday.

“We will make low-cost renewable solar energy available to every citizen,” he said while presiding over a federal cabinet meeting in Islamabad.

“We are also actively planning to move the economy in a positive trajectory,” he said and added that the exports would be increased by developing small and medium-scale industries. “Further, privileges of elites of country’s resources will be abolished.”

The premier was of the view that the economic security of the common people and providing opportunities for equal development were among the priorities of the government.

In a move aimed at promoting the domestic solar panel industry, the federal government decided to offer tax concessions on the import of raw materials and components used in the manufacturing of solar panels, inverters, and batteries.

In his budget speech on June 12, Finance Minister Muhammad said that in order to reduce the country’s dependence on imported solar panels and conserve precious foreign exchange, the government has decided to provide tax incentives for the local production of solar panels, inverters, and batteries.

Last month, the energy minister clarified that the International Monetary Fund, which is in Pakistan for talks with the government on a new bailout package, has not set any condition to convert net metering to gross metering.

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Leghari said that according to the government estimates, the price of a 5kW solar system was much lower compared to the last two years and the recovery of the price charged on the solar system was happening in a very short period of time.

“The IMF has not set any condition to convert net metering to gross metering.”