Pkrevenue.com

Author: Mrs. Anjum Shahnawaz

  • FBR issues one million tax notices to enforce compliance

    FBR issues one million tax notices to enforce compliance

    ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has issued one million notices to registered taxpayers for enforcing compliance to the tax laws.

    FBR officials on Friday said that the FBR issued one million notices till June 30, 2022 in both income tax and sales tax to registered persons and entities having turnover Rs100 million and above to enforce compliance against different sections the tax laws.

    READ MORE: FBR unveils plan to achieve Rs7.47 trillion revenue collection target

    According to the FBR it had taken several measures to boost revenue.  It said number of income tax return filers for TY 2020 has crossed 3.0 million.

    FBR has embarked on a plan to integrate all sales outlets of tier-1 retailers with FBR’s central computerized system. Furthermore FBR has decided to implement Track and Trace System for specified goods/ products i.e. Tobacco, Cement, Sugar, Fertilizer and Beverages imported into or manufactured in Pakistan.

    READ MORE: Customs officer awarded major penalty of rank demotion

    The revenue body launched sectorial analysis of huge business concerns across the country by assessment and processing units in all field formations of Inland Revenue Service (IRS). Sectors like cement, sugar, cotton and tobacco remained under focus.

    Legal actions (attachment of properties, arrests and seizures) has been made against huge tax-defaulters to create deterrence against tax-evaders.

    READ MORE: FBR surpasses first quarter collection target by Rs27 billion

    The FBR also took measures in audit and accounting wing. This has been entrusted with the task of designing audit policy as an audit compliance program on yearly basis. This current year following initiatives have been taken by the Audit & Accounting Wing:

    The Audit Policy, 2020 for Tax Year 2019 is under process in view of the experience obtained from the past audit policies. In addition to that, the wing also monitors audit activities carried out in the field formation throughout the year.

    READ MORE: FBR extends return filing date up to October 31, 2022

    The FBR said this year, under DLI 6 of Pakistan Raises Revenue Program, FBR has conducted and completed 67 cases of comprehensive field audits of large taxpayers selected through the Audit Policy, 2019 for Tax year 2018 by the risk-based selection tool and monitored by the Compliance Unit through AMIS with associated reports submitted to FBR management which has been duly verified by the World Bank.

    Software solution is introduced to provide continuous monitoring of the audit cases with sufficient documentation and assistance to the auditors.

  • Govt. trying to bring down dollar price: Dar

    Govt. trying to bring down dollar price: Dar

    ISLAMABAD: Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has said that the government is trying to bring down the dollar price in order to ease the inflationary pressure.

    According to state media the finance minister said the government is taking measures to bring down dollar price to 200 rupees after which the prices of daily commodities would also come down.

    He said there is also a strong will to reduce inflation from 12 to 14 per cent and giving relief to common man.

    READ MORE: PKR recovers against dollar for ninth consecutive session

    He said stabilizing national currency against US dollar would have positive impact on every citizen’s life.

    Responding to a question, Ishaq Dar said the government is committed to fulfill the agreement made with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

    READ MORE: PKR maintains winning streak against dollar on 8th straight session

    It is worth mentioning that Pakistani Rupee (PKR) a day earlier continued recovery against the dollar for 9th straight session in the interbank foreign exchange market.

    The rupee gained 1.70 to end at PKR 223.94 to the dollar from previous day’s closing of PKR 225.64 in the interbank foreign exchange market.

    READ MORE: PKR continues upward journey for seventh consecutive session against dollar

    The local currency gained PKR 15.77 against the dollar during the last nine sessions. The exchange rate reached to near record low of PKR 239.71 on September 22, 2022 to the dollar but ended at PKR 223.94 on October 05, 2022.

    Currency experts said that the rupee was appreciating against the dollar due to positive sentiments following assumption of Ishaq Dar as the finance minister. Dar recently claimed that the actual value of the dollar is below PKR 200 and he vowed to bring it down.

    Meanwhile, the international oil prices also crashed which helped the rupee to make gains.

    READ MORE: Rupee gains for sixth straight session against dollar; recovers PKR 11.26

  • FBR unveils plan to achieve Rs7.47 trillion revenue collection target

    FBR unveils plan to achieve Rs7.47 trillion revenue collection target

    ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has unveiled strategy to achieve revenue collection target of Rs7.47 trillion during the ongoing fiscal year 2022-2023.

    Officials in the FBR on Thursday said that revenue target for 2022-2023 has been fixed at Rs7.47 trillion which demands growth of 21.5 per cent over the collection of Rs6.148 trillion made during the last fiscal year.

    READ MORE: Customs officer awarded major penalty of rank demotion

    In absolute terms, around Rs1.32 trillion additional revenues are to be collected by the FBR in the current fiscal year to meet the target.

    The target for 2022-2023 is challenging given the fact that government is focusing on controlling the current account deficit and rising inflation which would result in import contraction and slowdown in the overall GDP growth.

    READ MORE: FBR surpasses first quarter collection target by Rs27 billion

    Nonetheless, FBR is confident that its team has the ability and the resolve to accomplish this gigantic task as an upward revised target has already been achieved for the financial year ended on June 30, 2022.

    “To achieve the target several efforts are being made at policy as well as operational levels. There is focus on enhanced use of technology and a policy shift towards taxing the high-income groups through direct taxation such as the imposition of Super Tax, Poverty Alleviation Tax, revision of individual tax slabs including salaried class, increase in Federal Excise Duty (FED) on international air travel, increased tax on luxury motor vehicles etc,” according to the officials.

    READ MORE: FBR extends return filing date up to October 31, 2022

    Keeping in view the past performance of FBR and the revenue measures taken during the current budget there are high hopes of achieving the tax target for fiscal year 2022-2023.

    READ MORE: LTO Karachi collects PKR 456 billion in 1QFY23

  • Faysal Bank, K-Electric collaborate to ease customer’s payment

    Faysal Bank, K-Electric collaborate to ease customer’s payment

    KARACHI: Faysal Bank Limited (FBL), one of the leading Islamic Banks in the country, and K-Electric have come together to ease customer’s payment burden in times of economic crunch.

    As part of the collaboration, Faysal Islami Noor Card holders will now be able to pay their electricity bills through easy instalment plan options of up to 3 months. Faysal Islami Noor card has gained immense popularity amongst industry card customers because it is a Shariah compliant alternative to conventional credit cards that offers amazing discounts and offers.

    Speaking on the occasion, Head Consumer Finance (FBL), Aneeq Malik said: “Customer convenience has always been of paramount importance to the Bank and our partnership with K-Electric is a depiction of our commitment to our customers. We are confident that through the proposition will allow customers to manage their monthly expenditures in a more convenient and relaxed manner.”

    Delighted at the launch of this campaign, Chief Distribution Officer at K-Electric, Amer Zia said, “Our collaboration with Faysal Bank through this offer is another testament of our commitment towards providing maximum relief to our consumers”.

    Feroz Khan, Head Unsecured Business (FBL) further added, “We are committed to further building customer loyalty by offering the best in class products and benefits to our valued customers. This collaboration aims to ease customer expenditure on their KE billings specifically in the high billing periods.”

  • NA committee directs SBP to take action exchange rate manipulators

    NA committee directs SBP to take action exchange rate manipulators

    ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue on Tuesday directed the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to take appropriate action against all the banks and exchange companies involved in manipulating volatility of the exchange rate.

    The committee also directed the central bank to take appropriate action against elements involved in exchange rate manipulation so that no one dares to play with the economy of the country.

    READ MORE: PKR maintains winning streak against dollar on 8th straight session

    The committee met under the chairmanship of Member of National Assembly (MNA) Qaiser Ahmad Sheikh, here in the Parliament House.

    The committee was of the view that during recent volatility in the exchange rate and the difference between the interbank rate and the rate offered by the Exchange Companies, few banks earned exorbitant profits.

    The committee was apprised that few banks and forex exchange companies were suspected of manipulating volatility in exchange rate.

    READ MORE: PKR continues upward journey for seventh consecutive session against dollar

    The SBP taking cognizance initiated strict monitoring of the foreign exchange operations of banks and exchange companies and has initiated inquiry proceedings into the violations made against SBP regulations.

    The Governor State Bank Jameel Ahmad further apprised that SME sector was the backbone of the country’s economy which had not been provided with relevant finances which it deserved.

    He said that on basis of cash flow the SME sector can avail credit from commercial banks.

    Regarding incentives given to the industrial and trading sector during COVID-19, the Governor State Bank said that the Bank adopted multipronged approach to facilitate industrial and trading sector.

    He said that those measures included debt rescheduling, financing the large and medium industries for carrying out their operations, besides chalking out measures that helped in avoiding retrenchment during the pandemic.

    READ MORE: Rupee gains for sixth straight session against dollar; recovers PKR 11.26

    He also informed that export based industries were also promoted.

    The committee pointed that the measures taken by the SBP were exceptional but the benefits did not trickle down and financial incentives were mostly availed by large scale industry.

    The committee directed the State Bank to provide details sector wise about who benefited from those incentives.

    The committee also decided to discuss the proposed measures for rehabilitation of the flood affectees, agriculture and commercial sectors in its next meeting.

    The committee was of the view that devastation caused by floods was massive and it needed proper continuous fiscal policy measures.

    READ MORE: PKR makes recovery against dollar for fourth straight session

    While discussing the issues of SBP restriction on import of forklifts, the committee was of the view that the industry was suffering and the State Bank should look into this.

    The representatives of the Importers Association apprised that due to restrictions imposed by SBP, commercial banks had stopped confirming letters of credits (LOCs).

    The Governor State Bank informed that there was no restriction on LOCs opened before 5th July, 2022.

    The Committee meeting was attended by Members of the Committee, Minister of State for Finance, Secretary Finance, Chairman FBR, Governor State Bank and other senior officers of the concerned departments.

  • Customs officer awarded major penalty of rank demotion

    Customs officer awarded major penalty of rank demotion

    ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has awarded major penalty of demotion in rank to a customs officer BS-16.

    (more…)
  • Pact signed to promote STEAM education

    Pact signed to promote STEAM education

    ISLAMABAD: While transitioning from the exam-centred to learning based approach, the Ministry of Federal Education & Professional Training’s (MoFEPT) STEAM Pakistan program is focused on improving conceptual understanding and analytical skills of school children across the country, with a specific focus on girls’ education.

    Launched in early 2022, the program has already started its interventions in middle and high schools in the Islamabad Capital Territory.

    As part of the program, MoFEPT signed a Letter of Understanding (LoU) today with the Federal Government Educational Institutions (FGEI) for a roll-out of STEAM interventions across all of its high schools.

    FGEI’s Director General, Major General Muhammad Asghar, HI (M), stated that “STEAM Pakistan project will complement the various measures taken by FGEI to attain the objective of quality education and promote the conceptual learning and development of soft skills in youth”.

    The LoU intends to support FGEI’s efforts on targeting students in middle schools across its network, with MoFEPT providing technical support for systems, teacher training, and STEAM content.

    Additional Secretary Waseem Ajmal Chaudhry at the signing ceremony remarked, “It is important that we focus on our children’s learning, and today is a great opportunity for the Ministry of Federal Education to collaborate with another Ministry for this purpose. The Ministry looks forward to providing similar technical support to provinces on STEAM”.

    FGEI currently manages 190 high schools in 45 districts across all provinces and AJ&K, and a total of 311 schools (including 13 higher secondary schools) and 47 colleges across Pakistan with over 8,000 teachers and 200,000 students. FGEI operates under the aegis of Ministry of Defence.

    STEAM Pakistan is a collaborative project through which Malala Fund and partners are providing support to the Federal Ministry of Education and Professional Training to advance secondary school-aged girls’ access to science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics education in Pakistan.

  • Pakistan import bill falls by 12.72% in 1QFY23

    Pakistan import bill falls by 12.72% in 1QFY23

    ISLAMABAD: The total import bill of Pakistan has declined by 12.72 per cent in the first quarter (July – September) of the fiscal year 2022/2023, according to data released by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

    The import bill of the country was $16.33 billion in the first quarter of the current fiscal year as compared with $18.72 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.

    READ MORE: Pakistan trade deficit narrows by 17% in 2MFY23

    Exports of the country, however, exhibited a nominal 2 per cent growth to $7.12 billion during the quarter under review as compared with $7 billion in the same quarter of the last fiscal year.

    The fall in import bill resulted in trade deficit contraction of 21.42 per cent. The trade deficit of the country fell to $9.21 billion during July – September 2022 as compared with the deficit of $11.72 in the same quarter of the last fiscal year.

    READ MORE: Pakistan’s trade deficit narrows by 18% in July 2022

    In September 2022 the trade deficit contracted by 30.62 per cent on Year on Year (YoY) basis.

    The trade deficit has been recorded at $2.88 billion in September 2022 when compared with $4.15 billion in the same month of the last year.

    READ MORE: Pakistan’s import bill records over $80 bn in 2021/2022

    The import bill for the month under review recorded a decline of 20 per cent to $5.27 billion in September 2022 when compared with $6.56 billion in the same month of the last year.

    Whereas, the exports of the country also recorded a decline of one per cent to $2.39 billion in September 2022 when compared with $2.41 billion in the same month of the last year.

    READ MORE: Pakistan’s trade deficit balloons $43.33 bn in 11 months

  • Dollar’s actual value less than PKR 200: Ishaq Dar

    Dollar’s actual value less than PKR 200: Ishaq Dar

    ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Monday said that the actual value of the US dollar is less than Pakistani Rupee (PKR) 200 and he vowed to bring down the exchange rate.

    Talking to a private news channel, the finance minister the local currency is undervalued.

    READ MORE: PKR continues upward journey for seventh consecutive session against dollar

    It is worth mentioning that the rupee is constantly gaining value against the dollar since the nomination and assumption the charge of finance ministry by Ishaq Dar.

    The PKR on Monday continued its upward journey against the greenback and strengthened for seventh consecutive session.

    The rupee made a gain of PKR 1.16 to end at PKR 227.29 against the dollar as compared with last Friday’s closing of PKR 228.45 in the interbank foreign exchange market.

    The local unit gained PKR 12.42 against the dollar during the last five sessions. The exchange rate reached a record low of PKR 239.71 on September 22, 2022 to the dollar but ended at PKR 227.29 on October 01, 2022.

    READ MORE: Rupee gains for sixth straight session against dollar; recovers PKR 11.26

    It is worth mentioning that the local unit recorded the all-time low level of PKR 239.94 to the dollar on July 28, 2022. Although after the IMF deal the rupee appreciated against the dollar but following the disbursement of funds under Extended Fund Facility (EFF) the rupee again witnessed a steep decline to reach near to the record low at PKR 239.71 to the dollar on September 22, 2022.

    READ MORE: PKR makes recovery against dollar for fourth straight session

    Khurram Schehzad, a senior analyst, said the finance minister should not talk about setting currency parity, or at least not that openly, as its purely the prerogative of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and we have committed this in writing with the IMF that no one, at least from the ministry of finance will intervene in any way into the central bank matters.

    “We should rather hold SBP accountable for achieving realistic currency parity (in line with fundamentals) as well as taming inflation (demand side), while managing the supply-side disruptions by a thorough strategy (farm to market management with necessary imports in time),” he added.

    READ MORE: PKR strengthens sharply to dollar during last three sessions

  • Pakistan’s headline inflation rises 23.2% in September 2022

    Pakistan’s headline inflation rises 23.2% in September 2022

    ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s headline inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased to 23.2 per cent on year-on-year basis in September 2022 as compared to an increase of 27.3 per cent in the previous month and 9.0 per cent in September 2021.

    On month-on-month basis, it decreased by -1.2 per cent in September 2022 as compared to an increase of 2.4 per cent in the previous month and an increase of 2.1 per cent in September 2021, according to data released by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

    READ MORE: Pakistan’s headline inflation hits 47-year high in August 2022

    CPI inflation Urban, increased to 21.2 per cent on year-on-year basis in September 2022 as compared to an increase of 26.2 per cent in the previous month and 9.1 per cent in September 2021.

    On month-on-month basis, it decreased by -2.1 per cent in September 2022 as compared to an increase of 2.6 per cent in the previous month and an increase of 2.0 per cent in September 2021.

    CPI inflation Rural, increased to 26.1 per cent on year-on-year basis in September 2022 as compared to an increase of 28.8 per cent in the previous month and 8.8 per cent in September 2021. On month-on-month basis, it increased by 0.2 per cent in September 2022 as compared to an increase of 2.2 per cent in the previous month and an increase of 2.3 per cent in September 2021.

    READ MORE: Pakistan’s sensitive price inflation surges by 45%

    Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) inflation on YoY increased to 28.6 per cent in September 2022 as compared to an increase of 34.0 per cent a month earlier and an increase of 16.6 per cent in September 2021.

    On MoM basis, it decreased by -1.4 per cent in September 2022 as compared to increase of 5.2 per cent a month earlier and an increase of 2.7 per cent in September 2021.

    Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation on YoY basis increased to 38.9 per cent in September 2022 as compared to an increase of 41.2 per cent a month earlier and an increase of 19.6 per cent in September 2021.

    READ MORE: Pakistan’s sensitive price inflation surges by 37.67%

    WPI inflation on MoM basis increased by 1.4 per cent in September 2022 as compared to an increase of 3.1 per cent a month earlier and an increase of 3.2 per cent in corresponding month i.e. September 2021.

    Measured by non-food non-energy Urban increased to 14.4 per cent on (YoY) basis in September, 2022 as compared to an increase of 13.8 per cent in the previous month and 6.4 per cent in September, 2021.

    On (MoM) basis, it increased by 0.9 per cent in September, 2022 as compared to an increase of 1.8 per cent in previous month, and an increase of 0.4 per cent in corresponding month of last year i.e. September 2021.

    Measured by non-food non-energy Rural increased to 17.6 per cent on (YoY) basis in September, 2022 as compared to an increase of 16.5 per cent in the previous month and 6.2 per cent in September, 2021.

    READ MORE: Pakistan’s headline inflation may up 24% in July 2022

    On (MoM) basis, it increased by 1.4 per cent in September, 2022 as compared to an increase of 1.8 per cent in previous month, and an increase of 0.5 per cent in corresponding month of last year i.e. September, 2021.

    Measured by 20 per cent weighted trimmed mean Urban increased to 19.5 per cent on (YoY) basis in September, 2022 as compared to 21.4 per cent in the previous month and 8.7 per cent in September, 2021.

    On (MoM) basis, it increased by 1.6 per cent in September 2022 as compared to an increase of 1.7 per cent in the previous month and an increase of 0.9 per cent in corresponding month of last year i.e. September, 2021.

    Measured by 20 per cent weighted trimmed mean Rural increased to 24.4 per cent on (YoY) basis in September, 2022 as compared to 23.8 per cent in the previous month and by 8.2 per cent in September, 2021.

    On (MoM) basis, it increased by 2.5 per cent in September, 2022 as compared to an increase of 1.8 per cent in the previous month and an increase of 1.2 per cent in corresponding month of last year i.e. September, 2021.