ISLAMABAD: Asim Ahmed, a BS-21 officer of Inland Revenue Service (IRS), has assumed the charge of 30th Chairman, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Friday.
(more…)Day: April 9, 2021
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President signs Pakistan Single Window Act
ISLAMABAD: President of Pakistan, Dr. Arif Alvi on Friday signed the Pakistan Single Window Act, 2021, a statement said.
Under the Pakistan Single Window Act, an independent institution having a Governing Council and Secretariat, would be established for the facilitation of national and international trade.
The new law will provide a coordinated one-window system to facilitate exports, imports and transit trade.
Establishment of an independent institution besides reducing the cost of doing business will also help ease cross border trade and transportation of goods.
The institution will also help in timely processing of data and bring about improvement in the provision of quality services.
The President also signed Senate Secretariat Services (Amendment), Act 2021.
Under the Senate Secretariat Services (Amendment) Act 2021, signed into law by the President under article 75 of the Constitution, the BS-17 appointments in Senate Secretariat will be made through the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC).
However, the Senate Secretariat would be authorized to make appointments in BS-1 to BS-16.
Direct appointments in BS-18 in Senate Secretariat have been done away with. The absorption of officers, posted in Senate Secretariat on deputation, has also been prohibited under the new law.
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Total registered companies increase to 139,620; 85pc filing annual return
ISLAMABAD: The total number of registered companies with Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has reached to 139,620, a press release said on Friday.
Out of the total registered companies, 118,280 companies are active, which accounts for 85 percent of total companies which are filling their annual returns, it added.
The SECP said that the reforms introduced by the commission for ease of doing business and digitalization are resulting in continued growth of entrepreneurship in the country.
In the first three quarters of FY 2020-21, SECP has incorporated 19,251 companies, representing an annual growth of 39 percent, compared to the same period last year. The SECP registered 14,493 companies in FY 2018-2019 and 16,945 companies in FY 2019-2020.
In March 2021, despite the challenges of Covid-19, the SECP has witnessed 72 percent growth in registration of new companies by registering 2,513 new companies, compared to same month last year. This is the highest number of companies ever registered in a single month. Around 99 percent companies were registered online and 25 percent of applicants completed the incorporated process the same day. This month, 260 foreign users were also registered from overseas.
Around 65 percent companies were registered as private limited companies, while around 31 percent were registered as single member companies and the remaining 5 percent were public unlisted companies, not for profit associations, trade organizations, foreign companies and limited liability partnerships. The construction & real estate sector took the lead with the incorporation of 414, trading with 393, IT with 311, services with 247, and food and beverages with 110.
Foreign investment has been reported in 43 new companies. These companies have foreign investors from Afghanistan, Australia, China, Germany, Hungary, Iran, Korea South, Mauritius, Norway, Philippines, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, the UAE, UK and the US.
The highest numbers of companies, i.e. 850 were registered in Islamabad, followed by 751 and 385 companies registered in Lahore and Karachi respectively. The CROs in Peshawar, Multan, Faisalabad, Gilgit-Baltistan, Quetta and Sukkur registered 176, 170, 104, 43, 22 and 12 companies respectively.
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Tax collection from salary income grows by 69pc in TY2020
ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) witnessed a substantial increase in tax collection from salary income during tax year 2020, marking a sharp growth of 69 percent compared to the previous year. This significant rise is largely attributed to revisions in the income tax slabs for salaried individuals introduced under fiscal reforms.
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Stock market increases by 445 points on improved sentiments
KARACHI: The stock market increased by 445 points on Friday owing to improved investors’ sentiments during the day.
The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 45,186 points as against previous day’s closing of 44,741 points, showing an increase of 445 points.
Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market inched up further from the recent run-up it has had in the past few sessions, adding round about 1500 points on the table.
Tech, Refinery, Cement, Steel, E&P and O&GMCs contributed to the positivity. Result expectations are helping Cement and Steel sector stocks go up and improvement in investor sentiment triggered other sectors.
Refinery sector stocks performed on the expectation of approval from the Petroleum Division. Among scrips, WTL topped the volumes with 124.3 million shares, followed by TELE (60.1 million) and BYCO (50.1 million).
Sectors contributing to the performance include Technology (+139 points), E&P (+84 points), Cement (+51 points), Banks (+46 points) and Textile (+44 points).
Volumes increased from 383.1 million shares to 688.0 million shares (+80 percent DoD). Average traded value also increased by 41 percent to reach US$ 165.7 million as against US$ 117.5 million.
Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include WTL, TELE, BYCO, UNITY and PRL, which formed 44 percent of total volumes.
Stocks that contributed positively to the index include TRG (+120 points), HBL (+29 points), POL (+28 points), NRL (+24 points) and PPL (+22 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include ENGRO (-69 points), DAWH (-28 points), BAHL (-7 points), INDU (-4 points) and NATF (-4 points).
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SBP decides to retain two-year history of borrowers’ default, delayed payments
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday announced that it will retain credit history of defaulters and delayed payments in Electronic Credit Information Bureau (eCIB) from July 01, 2021.
Currently the eCIB is maintaining the credit history of default and delayed payment of borrowers only for one year.
The SBP in a statement said that from July 2021, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has decided to include two years history of negative/overdue information for consumer/individual borrowers’ in the eCIB reports of State Bank of Pakistan in line with international practices. Currently, the eCIB report reflects negative/overdue information for consumer/individual borrowers’ for one year.
Electronic Credit Information Bureau (eCIB ) of SBP collects and collates credit data on borrowers from its member Financial Institutions (FIs). The financial data is then aggregated in system and the resulting information, in the form of credit reports, is made available online to the member FIs for the purpose of credit assessment, credit scoring and credit risk management. The major purpose of this database is to enable the Financial Institutions (FIs) to know the credit history of their current and prospective customers thus enabling them to make informed and timely lending decisions.
The decision was undertaken by the SBP to align its eCIB policies with international practices and to meet the Ease of Doing Business Survey (EODB) requirement of displaying at least two years history in the eCIB reports. The same will help in the enhancement of the credit assessment capability of the member FIs of their current and potential customers.
It is very important to note that this change will be adopted on prospective basis and will be effective from July 2021 onwards. Accordingly, any default, delay in payment, etc. prior to 1st July 2021 will continue to be reflected in the credit report of the customers only for one year. However, defaults, delayed payments, etc. after 1st July 2021 will be shown on the credit reports for two years. All the member FIs are advised to bring the contents of this policy change in the knowledge of their existing and potential customers. Besides, the member FIs should also ensure upfront disclosure to their current and potential customers regarding the eCIB reporting requirement and its implication i.e. (the reflection of overdue/late payments/write off/waiver, etc.) in eCIB reports after settlement of their liabilities.
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Engro Corp approves $31.4m for petrochemical project study
KARACHI: The board of directors of Engro Corporation Limited has approved $31.4 million for commencement of a study on a projected related to petrochemical chemical for future investment prospects.
In an information shared with the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), the company said that the board in its meeting held on April 08, 2021 approved an amount of up to $31.4 million towards conducting engineering, design and technical studies including a Front End Engineering Design (FEDD) study in relation of PDH-PP Project.
The result of these studies, when completed, are expected to inform the final investment decision in relation to this project, which decision will also be based on a conducive policy environment and arranging the right mix of debt and equity partners at such time.
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FBR issues office timings during Ramazan
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has issued special office timings to be observed during the upcoming holy month of Ramazan.
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Dollar eases to Rs152.94
KARACHI: The US dollar fell by eight paisas against the Pak Rupee on Friday owing to foreign inflows of Eurobonds issuance and lower import payment demand.
The rupee ended Rs152.94 to the dollar from previous day’s closing of Rs153.02 in the interbank foreign exchange market.
Currency dealers said that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) had received $2.5 billion as proceeds of Eurobond issuance. This transfer helped increase in foreign exchange reserves and ease pressure on the rupee.
Further, they said that importers were remained cautious in placing new orders due to continuous rise on coronavirus cases in the country.
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FBR to reintroduce track and trace system for tobacco products by end-June
KARACHI: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) may reintroduce track and trace system for tobacco products by end-June 2021 with a new strategy after a higher court declared the earlier system invalid.
According to country report on Pakistan issued by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday, the Pakistan authorities through Letter of Intent (LOI) pledged to reintroduce the track and trace system by end-June 2021.
“The procurement procedures related to the track-and-trace licenses to address the smuggling of tobacco products have been declared invalid by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and the roll-out of the track-and-trace system for tobacco products was suspended,” according to the report.
Nonetheless, and building on the lessons from this experience, the authorities are seeking to reintroduce and roll out the track-and-trace systems for tobacco products by end-June 2021 and will consider its introduction for other items subject to high levels of smuggling, including sugar, drinks, and cement, it added.
The authorities said that that for tax policy measures to be successful and to generate the expected revenues, we need to step up tax administration reforms and enforcement. To this end, we will focus on:
(i) introducing a centralized, risk-based compliance function;
(ii) modernizing the IT system and further advancing automation;
(iii) actively using third-party data, strengthening data cross-checking, and analysis;
(iv) simplifying registration and filing processes;
(v) modernizing audit practices and taking a more targeted audit approach; and
(vi) further strengthening the large taxpayer approach and expanding the activities of the Large Taxpayer Office (LTO).
Additionally, the authorities will continue the process of sales tax harmonization, implement the single return and taxpayer portal by end-June 2021, and launch a Collectible Debt Campaign by end-March 2021 to redress the high percentage of outstanding debt.
To support GST harmonization, the authorities will establish the single filing portal by September 2024.