LAHORE: Bypassing the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, the Punjab Revenue Authority has directly written to the chief executive officers (CEOs) of the cellular companies, directing them to ensure their presence in the March 22 meeting to discuss internet taxes.

The meeting will be chaired by the Punjab finance minister.In case of non-compliance, the provincial government may review withdrawal of 19.5 percent tax from cellular companies.

In a letter to the telecom operators` CEOs, the PRA said the finance minister did not appreciate the `absence` of the CEOs in Tuesday`s meeting in Lahore.

The operators` representatives chief financial officers were present at the meeting on `monitoring the benefits of exemption Punjab sales tax on Internet ser-vices` but the finance minister cancelled it and rescheduled it for March 22.

The PRA further said the operators must ensure presence of the CEOs in the next meeting. `Nonattendance of the CEOs may result in drawing an adverse inference with respect to the stated purpose of the meeting,` it warned.

A source in the PTA told Dawn that the PRA could not by-bass it (PTA) to issue directions to the tel-ecom operators. `It may impose taxes on the operators but cannot issue directives,` he said, adding the PRA should not act as a `boss` while communicating with the operators.

The operators have protested the treatment meted out to their senior officials. `They had arrived here from Islamabad to exclusively attend this meeting. The CFOs are the subject specialists and could have discussed the issue with all its technical sides,` anofficial of a leading operator told Dawn.

`The chief minister should take notice of the tone of the PRA`s letter to the telecom operators CEOs as it may not reflect well on foreign investors. This treatment with foreign investors is humiliating,` he said.

The Punjab government had imposed 19.5 per cent tax on mobile internet services in May last year.

However, it withdrew it later on public pressure.