NA set to consider GIDC Amendment Bill 2026 to unlock over Rs 400 billion in stuck dues

Lawmakers are slated to examine the Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (Amendment) Bill, 2026 in the National Assembly, a measure aimed at settling over Rs400 billion in GIDC dues stuck in litigation. Profit, citing Business Recorder, said the Cabinet Committee on Disposal of Legislative Cases had already cleared changes to the GIDC Act, 2015.

The levy targeted gas users outside the domestic and commercial categories, with proceeds meant for the Iran-Pakistan pipeline, TAPI and various LNG schemes. TAPI is still far from complete, and construction so far covers only a 153-kilometer stretch linking Serhetabat, on the Turkmen border, with Herat in Afghanistan. The Petroleum Division said earlier levies under a 2011 law and a 2014 ordinance had been annulled by the Supreme Court, which prompted Parliament to pass the 2015 Act with retrospective effect.

In August 2020 the Supreme Court upheld the 2015 Act retrospectively but halted new collections, limiting recovery to existing arrears. The court also treated the cess as a fee, not a tax, so the money had to be linked to the delivery of the named projects. Litigation persisted, and the GIDC Committee set up by the prime minister in November 2022 last met in March 2025. The committee agreed to amend Section 4 of the Act, but the CCLC rejected a first draft in September 2025 and approved a reworked version in January 2026.