Pkrevenue.com

Month: January 2021

  • FBR sets up cell for registration of manufacturers for concessionary power, gas tariff

    FBR sets up cell for registration of manufacturers for concessionary power, gas tariff

    ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Thursday established a cell for registration of manufacturers in export-oriented sector to allow concessionary tariff on supply of electricity and gas.

    The FBR issued an office order to set up Export-oriented Sector Registration Cell (ESRC) for manufacturers of export-oriented sectors (erstwhile zero-rated sector) to process requests for concessionary tariff rates on supply of electricity and gas.

    The FBR deputed officers to the cell, who are included: Khalid Mehmood, Second Secretary (ST-L&P), Imran Ullah Khan, Senior Auditor (ST-L&P) and Majid Hussain Abbasi, Inspector (ST-L&P).

    The functions of the ESRC are to:

    Examine the particulars and recommendations of the respective associations and counter-verify particulars of the taxpayer including declarations in the registration profile etc. as required, and forward the case to the ministry of commerce for further necessary action.

    Liaise with Inland Revenue field formations for ground-check, report and recommendations, in case any discrepancies in the verification report and data available with the FBR are spotted.

    Earlier in a notification issued on December 30, 2020, the FBR said that the economic coordination committee of the cabinet had approved the reduced rate to manufacturers on supply of electricity and gas in a meeting held on December 12, 2020. The ECC also directed the FBR, ministry of commerce and other stakeholders to devise a standard operating procedure (SOP) for enrollment of registered persons under the export-oriented sectors (erstwhile zero-rated sectors) to quality concessionary regime of electricity, RLNG and gas tariff.

    Accordingly, a meeting was held in FBR on December 22, 2020 and as a result of thorough deliberations amongst all stakeholders the requisite SOP has been agreed upon and being rolled onto.

    The FBR said the following SOP adopted for enrollment of manufacturers for grant of reduced tariff rate:

    (i) For new registration of manufacturers for concessionary tariff rates, applicants may apply respective representative association.

    (ii) The Association concerned, after verifying the particulars on the prescribed format, may forward the application along with its element recommendations, duly signed by its chairman/president, to the export oriented sector registration cell (ESRC) of the FBR.

    (iii) The ESRC shall examine the particulars and recommendations of the respective associations and counter-verify particulars of the taxpayer including declarations in the registration profile etc. as required, and forward the case to the ministry of commerce for allowing concessionary tariff through respective Distribution Companies (DISCOs)/Gas companies.

    (iv) In case the ESRC spots any discrepancies in the verification report and data available with the FBR, the matter will be referred to Inland Revenue field formations for ground-check, report and recommendations.

    (v) The newly enrolled taxpayers shall be entitled to avail concessionary tariff prospectively.

    (vi) The DISCOs/gas companies shall ensure that the taxpayers are active on FBR’s (Sales Tax) Active Taxpayers List (ATL) as shared with DISCOs/gas companies each month before generating the monthly utility bills. In case the taxpayer is found non-active on the ATL, standard utility tariff shall apply on supply of utilities for the relevant period.

    (vii) Any taxpayer aspiring to avail concessionary utility rates and who is not registered with the respective sector association, may approach the Inland Revenue field formation concerned for verification of its business particulars and onward submission of report on the prescribed format to the RSRC within 15 days of the submission of the application.

    The procedure for the registration of new entrants in export oriented sectors shall become applicable with effect from January 01, 2021.

    Following is the list of export oriented sectors associations:

    01. All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA)

    02. Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers & Exporters Association (PRGMEA)

    03. Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers Association (PHMA)

    04. Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA)

    05. Pakistan Leather Garments Manufacturers & Exporters Association (PLGMEA)

    06. Pakistan Sports Goods Manufacturers & Exporters Association

    07. Surgical Instruments Manufacturing Association of Pakistan

    08. Pakistan Denim Manufacturers and Exporters Association

    09. All Pakistan Textile Processing Mills Association (APTPMA)

  • Trade deficit swells by 6.44 percent in first half

    Trade deficit swells by 6.44 percent in first half

    ISLAMABAD: The country’s trade deficit has widened by 6.44 percent during the first half (July – December) of fiscal year 2020/2021 owing to uptick in imports during past two months.

    According to trade data released by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Thursday, the trade deficit was recorded at $12.42 billion during July – December of fiscal year 2020/2021 as compared with the deficit of $11.67 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.

    The exports of the country witnessed a growth of five percent to $12.1 billion during the first half of the current fiscal year as compared with $11.52 billion in the corresponding half of the last fiscal year.

    Similarly, the total import bill of the country registered an increase of 5.72 percent to $24.52 billion during the first half of the current fiscal year as compared with $23.2 billion in the corresponding half of the last fiscal year.

    The trade deficit was widened sharply by 32 percent in December 2020 to $2.68 billion as compared with the deficit of $2.03 billion in the same month of 2019.

    The exports have witnessed 18.31 percent growth to $2.35 billion in December 2020 as compared with $1.99 billion in December 2019.

    Meanwhile, the import bill during December 2020 registered a growth of 25.25 percent to $5.04 billion as compared with $4.02 billion.

  • Stock market gains 191 points amid selling pressure

    Stock market gains 191 points amid selling pressure

    KARACHI: The stock market gained 191 points on Thursday amid to selling pressure prevailed during the day.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 45,345 points as against previous day’s close of 45,153 points showing an increase of 191 points.

    Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market added a total of 466 points during the session, where the initial start was very fast paced, although profit booking in rest of the session brought the index down.

    Profit booking was witnessed in E&P, Cement, Steel and O&GMCs sectors, whereas aggressive buying was witnessed in Banks and Fertilizer sectors.

    Developing situation with respect to Quetta incident and laggard approach by the government to meet the protestors’ demands caused concern among investors.

    News of removal of Additional Custom Duty on 152 tariff lines, also helped Textile and related chemical sector stocks to perform, however, profit booking brought the rates down by the end of session.

    Among scrips, BYCO topped the volumes with 94.8 million shares, followed by POWER (34.2 million) and KAPCO (31.6 million).

    Sectors contributing to the performance include Banks (+177 points), Fertilizer (+100 points), Inv Banks (+12 points), O&GMCs (-51 points), Cement (-34 points) and E&P (-26 points).

    Volumes declined slightly from 664.5 million shares to 641.4 million shares (-4 percent DoD). Average traded value, on the contrary, increased by 3 percent to reach US$ 159.5 million as against US$ 154.3 million.

    Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include BYCO, POWER, KAPCO, PRL and PAEL, which formed 33 percent of total volumes.

    Stocks that contributed positively to the index include UBL (+88 points), HBL (+44 points), FFC (+37 points), EFERT (+29 points) and ENGRO (+27 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include PSO (-41 points), PPL (-29 points), OGDC (-19 points), LUCK (-18 points) and ANL (-17 points).

  • Foreign exchange reserves increase to $20.512 billion by year-end 2020

    Foreign exchange reserves increase to $20.512 billion by year-end 2020

    KARACHI: The liquid foreign exchange reserves of the country increased to $20.512 billion by year-end 2020, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Thursday.

    The foreign exchange reserves of the country increased by $258 million to $20.512 billion by week ended December 31, 2020 as compared with $20.254 billion by week ended December 24, 2020.

    The official reserves of the central bank increased by $261 million to $13.412 billion by week ended December 31, 2020 as compared with $13.151 billion a week ago.

    The foreign exchange reserves held by commercial banks were flat at $7.1 billion by week ended December 31, 2020 as compared with $7.103 billion by week ended December 24, 2020.

  • PRGMEA supports proposal for revival of sales tax zero-rate regime

    PRGMEA supports proposal for revival of sales tax zero-rate regime

    KARACHI: Exporters and manufacturers of readymade garments on Thursday supported the proposals of revival of zero-rate sales tax regime for entire textile chain.

    Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PRGMEA) in a statement endorsed the demand of PM Advisor on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood to seek zero-rating regime for whole textile chain in the Textile and Apparel Policy 2020-25, stating the apparel sector is eagerly waiting for the approval of it from the ECC to make future marketing plan in the light of new policy.

    PRGMEA central chairman Sohail A. Sheikh and chief coordinator Ijaz Khokhar, in a joint statement issued here today, observed that restoration of zero-rating status of the textile sector is vital to maintain the momentum of present enhanced exports, as currently the sector is working at full capacity to meet the high demand of export orders.

    “It is absolutely essential to sustain this momentum, as economic activities are largely restored to pre-Covid levels in the first quarter of current fiscal year 2020-21, PRGMEA central chairman added.

    He said that the uptrend indicated a promising growth ahead in all major sectors especially the value-added apparel industry, but the risk of record high yarn prices amidst its severe shortage has continuously been posing a major threat to exports growth.

    Apart from announcing five-year textile policy, the government will have to introduce some soft package for short-term period for the apparel industry to sustain the present growth as yarn prices has increased by 30-40 percent while availability is also very critical, he observed.

    Sohail A. Sheikh said that the government can support the industry by restoring the zero rating of sales tax regime besides allowing duty-free cotton yarn, as the industry is hitting hard owing to shortage of its major raw material. Moreover, existing available stocks of cotton yarn are of the poor quality to help any sort of apparels manufacturing for export purposes.

    Ijaz Khokhar said the situation demands that the government should immediately abolish customs duty and all types of taxes on import of cotton yarn and exporters should be given full liberty to import yarn from any country till the scarcity of cotton yarn is ended, as removal of just 5 percent regulatory duty could not have a significant effect in the local market.

    He added that the value-added apparel sector has been affected badly due to delay in the final announcement of the new textile policy by Economic Coordination Committee of the cabinet, as the PM has already given approval in this regard. He was of the view that a delay in textile policy may result in delay or even backing out of investors from possible investments in the industry. Currently, we are in short production capacity and several exporters are refusing export orders because there is not enough capacity available in the country. A clear long term policy will give investors a clear vision that the government of Pakistan is ready to support the apparel sector of Pakistan on long-term basis.

    According to him, the new textile policy carries the potential of taking the textile sector out of a crisis like situation. He hailed the PM Advisor for making efforts for incorporating several suggestions of the PRGMEA.

    Sohail A. Sheikh also called for a Soft Temporary Import for Re-Export Policy especially designed for SME’s, which are 90 percent of our export industry. This is very important to manage our global supply chain. PRGMEA has already submitted a comparative study of existing SROs and new proposed SRO, which will help us cater to the new Fast Fashion & On-line Business Model.

    There is a huge demand of Certified Organic Cotton by the buyers. We the apparel sector strongly recommend that the import of Organic Yarn should be exempted from custom duty and all other taxes, till Pakistan produces its own certified organic cotton.

  • Rupee strengthens by 28 paisas on inflows of exports, remittances

    Rupee strengthens by 28 paisas on inflows of exports, remittances

    KARACHI: The Pak Rupee strengthened by 28 paisas against the dollar on Thursday owing to improved inflows of export receipts and workers’ remittances.

    The rupee ended Rs160.01 to the dollar from previous day’s closing of Rs160.29 in the interbank foreign exchange market.

    Currency dealers said that the market had witnessed supply of the foreign currency in the shape of export receipts and workers’ remittances.

    The dealers said that the market had demand for import and corporate payments but the inflows were sufficient to meet the demand.

    On January 02, 2021, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment, Abdul Razaq Dawood has expressed his satisfaction that the exports in December 2020 have increased by 18.3 percent to $ 2,357 million as compared to $ 1,993 million in December 2019, showing an increase of $364 million.

    The Adviser said this was the highest export ever in the previous month of December 2020.

    He said that the export figures showed the resilience of the economy of Pakistan and was a vindication of the government’s policy to keep the wheels of economy running during COVID-19 pandemic. The 6-months’ performance of exports was also discussed in the meeting.

  • Javed Ghani assumes charge as 30th FBR chairman

    Javed Ghani assumes charge as 30th FBR chairman

    ISLAMABAD: Muhammad Javed Ghani, a BS-22 officer of Pakistan Customs Service, has assumed the charge as regular chairman of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) after serving on the same post as additional charge for almost six months.

    He is 30th chairman of the organization including the tenure of additional charge from July 07, 2020 to January 03, 2021.

    A notification issued by the revenue body stated that Muhammad Javed Ghani relinquished the charge of the post of Member (Customs-Policy), FBR on January 04, 2021 and assumed the charge of the post of chairman, FBR, Islamabad on the same date.

    Javed Ghani is an expert in Customs and Tax Matters, Tax and Trade Law, Procedures and Trade Facilitation.

    Earlier worked on various senior and mid level policy making as well as operational positions at the Federal Board of Revenue Headquarters and across the country at various ports, airports and border customs offices including Karachi and Islamabad airports and Gawadar Sea Port, Sost (border with China), Chaman (border with Afghanistan), Taftan (border with Iran), Karachi Sea Port, Quetta, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Sialkot Inland Ports, with responsibility to suggest legal changes and oversee implementation of customs and trade laws as well as cross border trade.

    He holds Master of Laws Degree in International Economic Law, with Distinction, from the Warwick University, United Kingdom, and Masters Degree in Economics, with Distinction, from the Government College (Punjab University), Lahore, Pakistan.

    Articles and research papers include, “Developing Web of International Economic Corridors & Pakistan”, “Review of Afghanistan Pakistan Transit Trade”, “WTO, Trade Facilitation and Pakistan Customs”, “Trade Facilitation Negotiations in the WTO, the divisions, crucial elements and the best way forward”, “The definition of Geographical Indications in the TRIPS (Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) Agreement in relation to the ongoing debate in the WTO on expanding the scope of Article 23”, and “Electronic Filing of the Goods Declarations in One-Customs and the Legal Gaps”.

    Javed Ghani attended various international conferences and training courses in countries including Bangladesh, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Japan, Kazakhstan, Phillippines, Russia, South Korea, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the United States.

    In the existing setup, the Chairman, FBR/Secretary Revenue Division, being the executive head of the Board and has the responsibility for:

     (i) formulation and administration of fiscal policies,
    (ii) levy and collection of federal taxes and
    (iii) quasi-judicial function of hearing of appeals.

    Chairman responsibilities also involve interaction with the offices of the President, the Prime Minister, all economic Ministries as well as trade and industry.

  • ECC approves removal of additional customs duty on 152 tariff lines

    ECC approves removal of additional customs duty on 152 tariff lines

    ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet on Wednesday approved removal of additional customs duty at 2 percent on import of raw material of 152 tariff lines.

    Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue chaired the ECC meeting. Federal Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed, Minister for Privatization Mohammad Mian Soomro, Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar, Minister for Industries and Production Hammad Azhar, Adviser to the PM on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood, SAPM on Revenue Dr. Waqar Masood, SAPM on Petroleum Nadeem Babar and Minister for National Food Security and Research Syed Fakhar Imam participated in the meeting.

    Governor State Bank of Pakistan Reza Baqir also participated through video link.

    Ministry of Commerce presented a summary regarding removal of additional 2 percent customs duties on 152 tariff lines, mostly raw material, on horizontal basis under National Tariff Policy 2019-2024.

    The ECC approved the summary with a direction that budget cycle must be observed while planning important incentives for businesses and industries for smooth planning and subsequent implementation during the financial year.

    Ministry of Maritime Affairs tabled a summary for awarding contract regarding infrastructure facilities, sewerage system and water supply system in Gulshan-e-Benazir Township Scheme (GBTS) at Port Qasim Authority, Karachi. The ECC approved the projects in conformity with the PQA Act-1973, in principle, and directed Ministry of Maritime Affairs to settle the modalities for the award of contracts as per rules.

    Ministry of National Food Security and Research presented a detailed summary regarding provision of additional quantities of wheat to KPK, AJ&K and Utility Stores Corporations (USC). The Additional Secretary, M/o NFS&R gave a detailed presentation regarding availability of wheat stocks across the country. The ECC approved additional wheat allocation of 200,000 MT for KPK 80,000 MT to AJ&K and 220,000 MT to USC from PASSCO as requested. ECC also approved the import of additional wheat to buffer up stocks till the arrival of fresh crop after seeking detailed input from all concerned.

    The summaries related to the Textile and Apparel Policy (2020-25) and National Freight and Logistics Policy (NFLP) were deferred to next ECC for comprehensive consultation process with key stakeholders.

    ECC approved the following Technical Supplementary Grants during the meeting: a) Rs. 30 million for the Ministry of Defence for the purchase of spare parts for Helicopters for the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK). b) Rs. 400.020 million for the Ministry of Law and Justice to establish additional courts in compliance with the orders of the Supreme Court. c) Rs. 2.268 billion for the Higher Education Commission for completion of various Disbursement linked Indicators (DLIs) under the IDA credit facility.

  • Chief Commissioners to appoint officials of BS-1 to BS-15 in field offices

    Chief Commissioners to appoint officials of BS-1 to BS-15 in field offices

    ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has authorized Chief Commissioners of Inland Revenue to appoint officials of BS-1 to BS-15 in field offices, sources said on Wednesday.

    According to the sources the FBR chairman has designated officers to exercise powers of appointing authority.

    The FBR chairman being the secretary, revenue division is authorized to appoint officials for the post in basic pay scales 17 to 19 or equivalent.

    Members FBR have been designated as appointing authority for the post of basic pay scales 16 or equivalent in FBR Headquarters and field offices.

    The sources said that the Chief Commissioners in BS-20/21, Director Generals BS20/21, chief collectors of Pakistan Customs BS-20/21 and Collectors of Pakistan Customs BS-20 have been authorized to appoint officials in BS-1 to 15 of field offices of the FBR.

    Further, Chief (HRM-IR) has been designated to appoint officials for the post in basic pay scales 8 to 15 or equivalent in FBR (HQ).

    Meanwhile, Chief (Admin & Finance) has been authorized to appoint officials for the post in basic pay scales 1 to 7 or equivalent in FBR (HQ).

    The sources said that the officers have been given the powers of authority under the Civil Servants (Efficiency & Discipline) Rules, 2020.

  • Stock market gains 503 points on buying activity

    Stock market gains 503 points on buying activity

    KARACHI: The stock market gained 503 points on Wednesday amid buying was witnessed across the board.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 45,153 points as against 44,650 points showing an increase of 503 points.

    Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that buying activity was observed across the board with E&P and O&GMCs rebounding strongly and supported by Cement and Fertilizer sectors, which showed good progress yesterday as well.

    International crude oil prices jumped significantly on the conclusion of agreement among OPEC+ countries that became the reason for performance of E&P stocks.

    Cement sector leaped on the expectation of an increase in cement price / bag in North region.

    Banking sector also contributed on the anticipation of annual results. Among scrips, BYCO led the table with 97.5 million shares, followed by PRL (87.2 million) and KAPCO (31 million).

    Sectors contributing to the performance include Banks (+118 points), E&P (+101 points), Cement (+62 points), Inv Banks (+59 points) and O&GMCs (+30 points).

    Volumes increased from 582.3 million shares to 664.5 million shares (+14 percent DoD). Average traded value increased by 2 percent to reach US$ 154 million as against US$ 151.2 million.

    Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include BYCO, PRL, KAPCO, HASCOL and HUMNL, which formed 41 percent of total volumes.

    Stocks that contributed positively to the index include MEBL (+63 points), DAWH (+54 points), POL (+48 points), LUCK (+37 points) and PAKT (+29 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include HUBC (-23 points), HGFA (-4 points), SCBPL (-3 points), AICL (-3 points) and SRVI (-2 points).