Day: October 28, 2020

FBR initiates Rs25 billion tax recovery from Mobilink

ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Wednesday initiated tax recovery of Rs25 billion from M/s. Pakistan Mobile Communication Limited (PMCL), including sealing of business premises.

PMCL is a mobile operator in Pakistan operating with trade name of Mobilink.

Large Taxpayers Office (LTO) Islamabad, one of the major revenue collecting units of the FBR, took the action against the mobile operator as income tax amount Rs25.39 billion was outstanding against the defaulter. “The defaulter is refraining itself deliberately, dishonestly and without lawful excuse to discharge tax liability and thus causing huge loss to the national exchequer,” according to a notice of LTO Islamabad.

The tax office had given deadline till 1300 hours on October 28, 2020 to pay the outstanding amount.

The tax office had initiated the recovery proceedings for the said amount by one or more of the following modes, namely:

— Attachment and sale of moveable or immovable property;

— Appointment of receiver for the management of your moveable or immovable property;

— Arrest and detention in person for a period not exceeding six months.

— As specified under clasue (a), (ca) and (d) of sub-section (I) of section 48 of the Sales Tax Act, 1990.

The FBR notice said that an amount of Rs22.03 billion was outstanding against the mobile operator related to tax year 2018. Further an amount of default surcharge of Rs3.36 billion to total outstanding amount.

While responding to the report, the PMCL issued the following statement:

“Jazz is a law-abiding and responsible corporate citizen. Our contribution to Pakistan’s economy over the past 25 years is significant.

“We have received a notice from FBR this afternoon. Jazz has made tax submissions based on legal interpretations of the tax owed. We will review and take measures under our legal obligations and will collaborate with all concerned institutions for an early resolution of this issue.”

October 28, 2020
SBP imposes penalty of Rs272 million on four banks

KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has imposed a monetary penalty of Rs272 million on four commercial banks for violating regulatory instructions related to Know Your Customer (KYC) and AML/CFT.

According to details of significant enforcement action by the central bank issued on Wednesday, the SBP imposed penalty on the four banks during first quarter (July – September) 2020/2021.

The SBP imposed the highest amount of penalty of Rs116.27 million imposed on Bank Islami Limited for procedural violations in the areas of CDD/KYC, General Banking Operations & Asset Quality. The SBP directed the bank to strengthen its processes to avoid recurrence of such violations.

The central bank imposed an amount of Rs 59.23 million as penalty on Soneri Bank Ltd for procedural violations in the area of CDD/KYC. In addition to penal action the bank has been advised to strengthen its processes to avoid recurrence of such violations.

The SBP imposed an amount of Rs10 million as penalty on The Bank of Punjab for procedural violations in the area of General Banking Operations. In addition to penal action the bank has been advised to strengthen its processes to avoid recurrence of such violations.

The central bank imposed Rs86.12 million as monetary penalty on Albaraka Bank (Pakistan) Ltd for violations in the areas of AML/CFT,FX Operations &General Banking Operations.

In addition to penal action the bank has been advised to conduct an internal inquiry on breaches of regulatory instructions and take disciplinary action against the delinquent officials.

October 28, 2020
Stock market ends down by 195 points in range bound activities

KARACHI: The stock market ended down by 195 points on Wednesday after trading in range bound.

The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 41,187 points as against 41,382 points showing a decline of 195 points.

Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market traded range bound today between +306 points and -312 points, closing the session in red with -195 points.

Investors have lately been discounting the back to back good corporate results on concerns of rising COVID cases as well as end of Earnings season that has regressed the market to current levels.

E&P stocks went down (with the exception of PPL) following the downtrend in international crude oil prices, which declined 2.5 percent overnight.

PPL, on the other hand, saw brisk buying in the last half hour, making day’s high.

Among construction sector, STCL hit upper circuit, garnering significant trading volumes in the process, on the back of better expectation of results and construction activity to take place at the behest of the government.

Among scrips, UNITY led the volumes with 60.1 million shares, followed by PIBTL (31.2 million) and HASCOL (26.8 million).

Sectors contributing to the performance include Banks (-85 points), Cement (-67 points), Textile (-44 points), Pharma (-37 points) and O&GMCs (-19 points).

Volumes declined from 481 million shares to 368.4 million shares (-23 percent DoD). Average traded value also declined by 18 percent to reach US$ 94.3 million as against US$ 114.8 million.

Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include UNITY, PIBTL, HASCOL, HUBC and POWER, which formed 40 percent of total volumes.

Stocks that contributed positively to the index include HUBC (+96 points), PPL (+19 points), THALL (+13 points), GHGL (+13 points) and DAWH (+10 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include LUCK (-48 points), SEARL (-39 points), UBL (-30 points), HBL (-27 points) and POL (-23 points).

October 28, 2020
Dollar falls to 160.62 as Pak Rupee makes 29 paisas gain

The Pak Rupee experienced a notable appreciation of 29 paisas against the US dollar on Wednesday, closing at Rs160.62 in the interbank foreign exchange market. This marked an improvement from the previous day’s closing rate of Rs160.91 to the dollar.
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October 28, 2020
PSX declares 385 percent increase in after tax quarterly profit

KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Wednesday announced a 385 percent increase in profit after tax for quarter ended September 30, 2020.
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October 28, 2020
FBR notifies rules for duty free minimum value of imported goods

ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Wednesday notified rules for duty free minimum value of goods imported through courier and postal service.

The FBR issued SRO 1109(I)/2020 to notify amendment to Customs Rules, 2001. The FBR previously issued draft rules through SRO 886(I)/2020 dated September 17, 2020.

Through the latest SRO the FBR issued ‘Deminimis rules for imported goods’, which shall apply to the goods imported through post service and air courier only.

“De minimis value’ means the value of goods up to five thousand rupees in terms of the provisions of Section 19C of the Customs Act, 1969.

The FBR said that for the purpose of application of the provisions of Section 19C of the Customs Act, 1969, the value mentioned on label of the postal good or the courier receipt shall be considered as the declared value.

Further, for conversion of invoice value into Pak Rupee, the postal or courier authorities shall take the official exchange rate of the previous day.

The postal or courier authorities shall submit a separate list of goods along with invoices and other documents, if any, wherein the declared value is up to five thousand rupees.

The customs authorities shall scrutinize the list and shall have the right to examine or detain any goods to verify the declared value or compliance to the requirement of any other law applicable thereon.

The postal or courier authorities shall submit a consolidated monthly e-statement of all such clearance along with copies of invoice of the imported goods cleared under the rules to the concerned customs authorities for re-conciliation of the record.

October 28, 2020