Pkrevenue.com

Month: April 2020

  • Illicit money given amnesty through package to construction industry

    Illicit money given amnesty through package to construction industry

    ISLAMABAD: The government has given an amnesty to illicit money in case of investment made into to construction industry as no question of money to be asked under Income Tax Ordinance, 2001.

    Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Monday issued the Tax Laws (Amendment) Ordinance No.1 of 2020 after the approval from the president.

    The ordinance says that it was being promulgated, “whereas, the COVID-19 pandemic has created a worldwide crisis due to which industries, businesses, offices, service has been shut down in Pakistan and economic activity is at a standstill.”

    “And whereas, in order to protect and revive the economy of Pakistan, it is essential and critical to give incentives for revival of the construction industry with certain conditions as provided for in this ordinance.”

    Amendment has been made to Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 under which Section 111 shall not apply to the first purchaser of a building or a unit and capital investment made in a new project in the form of money or land.

    Section 111 of the Ordinance deals with concealed or undeclared money whereas harsh penalties under the ordinance have been outlined for undeclared money.

    According to the sub-Section 3 of Tax Laws (Amendment) Ordinance No.1 of 2020, the provisions of Section 111 shall not apply to capital investment made in a new project in the form of money or land, subject to following conditions, namely:

    (a) if the investment is made by a builder or developer being an individual –

    (i) in the form of money, such builder or developer shall open a new bank account and deposit such amount in it on or before the 31st day of December 2020; or

    (ii) in the form of land, such builder or developer shall have the ownership title of the land at the time of commencement of the Tax Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020;

    (b) if the investment is made by a person in a project through a company or an association of persons;

    (i) such company or association of persons shall be single object (builder or developer) company or association of persons registered under the Companies Act, 2017 or the Partnership Act, 1932, as the case may be, after the date of commencement of the Tax Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 and on or before the 31st day of December, 2020; and

    (ii) the person shall be a member or shareholder of such association of persons or company, as the case may be;

    And if the capital investment is made,

    (i) in the form of money, such amount shall be invested through a crossed banking instrument deposited in the bank account of such association of persons or company, as the case may be, on o before the 31st day of December, 2020; or

    (ii) in the form of land, such land shall be transferred to such association of persons or company, as the case may be, on or before the 31st day of December 2020;

    Provided that the person shall have the ownership title of the land at the time of commencement of the Tax Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020;

    (c) a person making an investment under the ordinance shall submit a prescribed form on IRIS web portal;

    (d) a person making an investment shall be wholly utilized in project; and

    (e) completion of the project shall be certified in the following manner, namely:

    (i) in case of a builder, the map approving authority or NESPAK shall certify that grey structure as per the approved map has been completed by the builder on or before the 30th day of September 2022; and

    (ii) in case of a developer

    (A) the map approving authority or NESPAK shall certify that landscaping has been completed on or before the 30th day of September 2022;

    (B) a firm of chartered accountants having an ICAP QCR rating of ‘satisfactory’, notified by the Board for this purpose, shall certify that at least 50 percent of the plots have been booked for sale and at least 40 percent of the sale proceeds have been received by the 30th day of September, 2020; and

    (C) at least 50 percent of the roads have been laid up to sub-grade level as certified by the approving authority or NESPAK.

    The sub-Section 4 of the latest ordinance said that the provisions of Section 111 shall also not apply to-

    (a) the first purchaser of a building or a unit of the building purchased from the builder in respect of purchase price of the building or unit of the building subject to the following conditions, namely:

    (i) full payment is made through a crossed banking instrument to the builder during a period starting from the date of registration of the project with the board under this section and ending on the 30th day of September 2022, in case the purchase is from a new project; and

    (ii) full or balance amount of payment is made through a crossed banking instrument to the builder during a period starting from the date of registration of the project with the board under this section and ending on the 30th day of September 2022, in case the purchase is from an existing incomplete project; and

    (b) the purchaser of a plot who intends to construct a building thereon, if

    (i) the purchase is made on or before the 31st day of December 2020;

    (ii) the full payment is made on or before the 31st day of December, 2020 through a crossed banking instrument;

    (iii) construction of such plot is commenced on or before the 31st day of December 2020.

    (iv) such construction is completed on or before the 30th day of September 2022; and

    (v) the person registers himself with the board on the online IRIS web portal.

    The sub-Section 5 of the latest ordinance said that sub-Section (3) or (4) apply, the value or price of land or building, as the case may be, shall be higher of clause (a) or (b) below:

    (a) 130 percent of the fair market value as determined by the board under sub-section (4) of Section 68; or

    (b) at the option of the person making investment, the lower of the values as determined by at least two independent valuers from the list of valuers approved by the State Bank of Pakistan.

    Sub-Section 6 of the ordinance stated that Sub-Section (3) and (4) shall not apply to –

    (a) holder of any public office as defined in the Voluntary Declaration of Domestic Assets Act, 2018 or his benamidar as defined in the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 2017 or his spouse or dependents;

    (b) a public listed company, a real estate investment trust or a company whose income is exempt under any provision of the ordinance; or

    (c) any proceeds derived from the commission of a criminal offence including the crimes of money laundering extortion or terror financing but excluding the offences under the ordinance.

  • Ramazan office timings announced

    Ramazan office timings announced

    ISLAMABAD: The Establishment Division on Monday issued office timings during the holy month of Ramazan.

    The following timings shall be observed, during the forthcoming holy month of Ramazan by the federal government offices working on five/six days:

    Office working on five days a week

    Monday to Thursday: From 10:00 AM to 04:00 PM

    Friday: From 10:00 AM to 01:00 PM

    Offices working on six days a week:

    Monday to Thursday and Saturday: 10:00 AM to 03:00 PM

    Friday: 10:00 AM to 01:00 PM

  • Stock market gains 668 points as positive sentiments prevail

    Stock market gains 668 points as positive sentiments prevail

    KARACHI: The stock market gained 668 points on Monday as sentiments were remained positive on rate cut and disbursement of IMF loan program.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 33,500 points as against 32,832 points showing an increase of +668 points.

    Analysts at Topline Securities said that cut in policy rate by 200 basis points to 9 percent and approval by IMF Executive Board to disburse US$1.386 billion through Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) to Pakistan continue to garner investor interest in the market.

    Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market continued the ascend today after posting the historical gains on Friday, when the market witnessed halt due to 5 percent cap on index.

    Market went up by 1026 points during the session and saw profit booking earlier in the session that brought the gains below +300 points.

    Cement sector again traded mostly on upper circuit and realized high trading volumes. Oil & Gas stocks, with the exception of PSO, saw a dip in prices, primarily on the back of international crude prices.

    WTI May contract saw a downtrend in price and declined to US$13.27/bbl post closure of PSX market. Banking sector stocks also managed to post gains over last closing.

    Cement sector contributed the most to the trading volumes by realizing 115.8 million shares, followed by Technology (33.4 million) and O&GMCs (32 million).

    Among scrips, MLCF topped the volumes with 39.6 million shares, followed by FCCL (35.5 million) and HASCOL (23 million).

    Sectors contributing to the performance include Fertilizer (+220 points), Cement (+183 points), Banks (+97 points), O&GMCs (+43 points) and Power (+40 points).

    Volumes increased significantly from 302.4 million shares to 399.9 million shares (+32 percent DoD). Average traded value also increased by 100 percent to reach US$ 106.2 million as against US$ 52.6 million.

    Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include MLCF, FCCL, HASCOL, UNITY and KEL, which formed 32 percent of total volumes.

    Stocks that contributed positively to the index include ENGRO (+155 points), LUCK (+91 points), FFC (+70 points), HUBC (+46 points) and HBL (+33 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include PAKT (-16 points), EFERT (-12 points), PPL (-11 points), PMPK (-11 points), and KAPCO (-7 points).

  • FBR promotes 35 DEOs to MIS Officer BS-16

    FBR promotes 35 DEOs to MIS Officer BS-16

    ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Monday notified promotions of 35 Data Entry Operators (BS-14) to the post of MIS Officer (BS-16) on regular basis with immediate effect.

    The following officers have been promoted to the post of MIS Officers:

    01. Agha Zafar Ullah, Regional Tax Office, Sukkur

    02. M Latif Awan, Data Processing Center (Income Tax), Karachi.

    03. Tanveer Ahmed Awan, Large Taxpayers Unit, Karachi.

    04. Mirza Adnan Baig, Corporate Regional Tax Office, Karachi.

    05. Amanullah Khan, Directorate of Intelligence and Investigation (Inland Revenue), Lahore.

    06. Muhammad Asim Bashir, Large Taxpayers Unit, Lahore.

    07. Syed Hassan Riaz, Data Processing Center (Income Tax), Lahore.

    08. Waseem Shafiq, Data Processing Center (Income Tax), Karachi.

    09. Kamran Sabir, Regional Tax Office, Quetta.

    10. Irshad Hussain, Regional Tax Office-III, Karachi.

    11. Muhammad Ayub, Data Processing Center (Income Tax), Karachi.

    12. Muhammad Mukarram, Data Processing Center (Income Tax), Karachi.

    13. Nahid Sultana, Data Processing Center (Income Tax), Karachi.

    14. Rashid Ishaq, Regional Tax Office, Faisalabad.

    15. Mst. Abida Aslam Rathore, Directorate of Research and Statistics, Islamabad.

    16. Muhammad Riaz, Corporate Regional Tax Office, Lahore.

    17. Muhammad Nisar, Data Processing Unit (Income Tax), Gujranwala.

    18. Danish Muhammad Khan, Large Taxpayers Unit-II, Karachi.

    19. Tasadduq Hussain, Regional Tax Office, Islamabad.

    20. Rashid Maqbool, Large Taxpayers Unit, Lahore.

    21. Furqan Khan, Large Taxpayers Unit, Lahore.

    22. Asif Mehmood, Data Processing Center (Income Tax), Lahore.

    23. Nisar Rasheed, Data Processing Center (Income Tax), Lahore.

    24. Agha Mehboob Abbas, Regional Tax Office, Rawalpindi.

    25. Kh, Altaf ur Rehman, Data Processing Unit (Income Tax), Multan.

    26. Yaseen Panhwar, Regional Tax Office, Hyderabad.

    27. Shah Qaiser Sheikh, Regional Tax Office-II, Lahore.

    28. Faiz Hussain Qureshi, Corporate Regional Tax Office, Lahore.

    29. Tariq Javed Khan Niazi, Corporate Regional Tax Office, Lahore.

    30. Muhammad Sohail, Large Taxpayers Unit, Lahore.

    31. Javed Rashid, Corporate Regional Tax Office, Lahore.

    32. Abdul Waheed, Large Taxpayers Unit, Lahore.

    33. Tahir Ali Khan, Directorate of Intelligence and Investigation (Inland Revenue), Lahore.

    34. Khalid Mehmood S/o Muhammad Qasim, Directorate of Intelligence and Investigation (Inland Revenue), Lahore.

    35. Tajamal Abbas, Reginoal Tax Office, Faisalabad.

    The FBR said that the officers would be on probation for a period of one year, extendable for a further period not exceeding one year, provided that if no order is issued by the day following the termination of probationary period, the appointment shall be deemed to be held until further orders.

    The officers already drawing performance allowance equal to 100 percent of the basic pay will continue to draw the same on their promotion.

    The FBR congratulates the officers on their promotion.

  • Rupee gains 9 paisas against dollar on positive sentiments

    Rupee gains 9 paisas against dollar on positive sentiments

    KARACHI: The Pak Rupee gained nine paisas against dollar on Monday as positive sentiments prevailed in the market after cut in monetary policy rate and approval of IMF loan to Pakistan.

    The rupee ended Rs163.49 to the dollar from last Friday’s closing of Rs163.58 in interbank foreign exchange market.

    The rupee appreciation was continued from the last week as positive news was reported for Pakistan economy.

    Currency dealers said that the rupee continued gain against dollar as the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) last week cut policy rate by 200 basis points to nine percent.

    The central bank reduced the policy rate third time in last one month considering significant adverse effect of coronavirus on the economy,

    Meanwhile last week the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) a day earlier approved the disbursement of $1.386 billion under the Rapid Financing Instrument to address the economic impact of the Covid-19 shock.

    The currency dealers said that the rupee may witness further appreciation in coming days due to falling international oil prices and reduction in non-oil imports.

  • Zakat on amount Rs46,329 and above to be deducted from bank accounts

    Zakat on amount Rs46,329 and above to be deducted from bank accounts

    KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday issued instructions to banks related to deduction of Zakat on amount above Rs46,329 maintained in saving bank accounts.

    The SBP said that Administrator General Zakat had notified the ‘Nisab of Zakat’ for the Zakat Year 1440-41 AH at Rs46,329.

    No deduction of Zakat at source shall be made, in case the amount tanding to the credit of an account is less than Rs46,329 on the first day of Ramzan ul Mubarak, 1141 AH.

    First day of Ramzan ul Mubarak, has already been notified as the deduction date likely to fall on April 23 or 24, 2020 (subject to appearance of the moon) for deduction of Zakat from Saving Bank Accounts, Profit and Loss Sharing Accounts and other similar accounts having credit balance of Rs46,329.

    All the Zakat collection controlling agencies have been asked to deduct the Zakat accordingly.

  • NCCPL announces March CGT collection on April 29

    NCCPL announces March CGT collection on April 29

    KARACHI: The National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited (NCCPL) has announced that the collection of Capital Gain Tax (CGT) on the disposal of shares for the month of March 2020 will take place on April 29, 2020.

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  • Banks directed to take facilitation measures for PM Covid-19 relief fund

    Banks directed to take facilitation measures for PM Covid-19 relief fund

    KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday directed banks to take measures to facilitate donations for Prime Minister’s COVID-19 Pandemic Relief Fund 2020.

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  • FBR collects Rs71.21 billion as regulatory duty in last fiscal year

    FBR collects Rs71.21 billion as regulatory duty in last fiscal year

    KARACHI: The customs authorities have collected Rs71.21 billion as regulatory duty during fiscal year 2018/2019, said Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) in a report released recently.

    The collection of regulatory duty increased by 12 percent to Rs71.21 billion in fiscal year 2018/2019 as compared with Rs63.58 billion in the preceding fiscal year.

    The share of regulatory duty in total customs collection in fiscal year 2018/2019 was 10.36 percent. This ratio was at 10.45 percent to the total customs duty in fiscal year 2017/2018.

    The total collection of customs duty was Rs685.57 billion in fiscal year 2018/2019 as compared with Rs608.37 billion in the preceding fiscal year, showing increase of 12.7 percent.

    The collection of customs duty also includes warehouse surcharge, regulatory duty, export development surcharge and export duties.

    The customs authorities collected Rs1.06 billion as warehouse surcharge in fiscal year 2018/2019 as compared with Rs853 million.

    An amount of Rs7.69 billion as export development surcharge during fiscal year 2018/2019 as compared with Rs6.13 billion in the preceding fiscal year.

    Besides, the authorities also collected Rs816 million as export duties during fiscal year 2018/2019 as compared with Rs859 million in the fiscal year 2017/2018.

  • Tax to GDP ratio to ease at 11pc as COVID19 losses estimated at Rs1,023bn

    Tax to GDP ratio to ease at 11pc as COVID19 losses estimated at Rs1,023bn

    ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s tax to GDP ratio likely fall to 11 percent as losses due to coronavirus lockdown on tax revenue has been estimated at around Rs1,023 billion in current fiscal year.

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