Pkrevenue.com

Author: Mrs. Anjum Shahnawaz

  • SRB posts 22.7pc growth in March collection

    SRB posts 22.7pc growth in March collection

    KARACHI: Sindh Revenue Board (SRB) has registered 22.7 percent growth in collection of sales tax on services during the month of March 2021 despite adverse effect of coronavirus on businesses.

    According to data released by the provincial revenue authority, the collection was Rs11.46 billion in March 2021 as compared with Rs9.34 billion in the same month of the last year.

    “The growth in revenue is phenomenal when viewed in the context of coronavirus effect on the businesses and the general slowdown of economy,” according to a SRB statement.

    During first three quarters of fiscal year 2020/2021, the SRB collected an amount of Rs88.54 billion as compared with Rs77.9 billion in the first three quarters of 2019/2020, showing a growth of 13.66 percent.

    The SRB attributed the revenue growth of 22.7 percent during March 2021 to the continued trust and cooperation of taxpayers, the continuous support by the Sindh government and the relentless efforts of the SRB officers and the staff.

    The SRB is focusing on assigned revenue collection target of Rs135 billion for the current fiscal year, despite the adverse factors such as low economic growth and the resurge of COVID-19.

  • Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves increase by $401 million to $20.836 billion

    Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves increase by $401 million to $20.836 billion

    KARACHI – In a significant development, Pakistan’s liquid foreign exchange reserves witnessed a robust increase of $401 million, reaching $20.836 billion by the week ending March 26, 2021, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

    (more…)
  • Call centers: SBP issues instructions to banks for customers’ protection

    Call centers: SBP issues instructions to banks for customers’ protection

    KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday issued instruction to banks for protection of customers’ identity while making communication through call centers.

    The SBP said that to ensure confidentiality of consumers’ data, banks will put in place adequate controls at their call centers including continuous CCTV vigilance, physical entry and exit checks, restriction on portable devices like cell phones, controlled accessibility to printers and emails.

    Banks will allow their call center staff access to customers’ data on a ‘Need-to-Know’ basis only i.e. restricted only to the customers contacting the call center.

    Proper logs of access to customer’s information will be maintained and monitored to detect unauthorized access.  Moreover, banks will ensure masking of the Credit or Debit card numbers so that the call agents could only view the last four digits of the cards.

    SBP has also instructed banks to deploy sufficient call center resources to ensure a satisfactory customer experience. For this, the banks will have adequate IT controls and contingency and disaster recovery set-ups for their call centers.

    All inbound and outbound calls at the call centers will be recorded and the record will be retained at least for one year.  Banks will also ensure that their call centers are adequately staffed with proper trainings, particularly on digital fraud management, relevant policies and initiatives of banks and query and complaint handling.

    To improve call center management, banks will have proper policy and oversight mechanisms in place and performance will be regularly monitored. The banks will put in place key performance indicators for reviewing performance of call centers with appropriate benchmarks as per international best practices. Banks will also have a comprehensive policy and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on call center management duly approved by their Board of Directors and CEO.

    The SBP said that call centers are rapidly becoming customers’ top choice to communicate with their Banks. Over time, the use of call centers by customers to seek information, guidance and redressal of complaints from their banks has increased significantly.

    On the other hand, the technological advancements are helping the banks to provide self-banking solutions through call centers. The growing importance of call centers in bank-customer relationship makes it imperative for the banks to efficiently manage their call centers for enhanced customer experience. Recently, SBP conducted a thematic review of the call center management at banks.  In the light of findings of the review, it has issued today regulatory instructions to banks on call center management.

    To bring ease in lodging complaints, all the banks are encouraged to deploy toll-free numbers for their call centers besides making sure that call center numbers are displayed prominently on banks’ premises and websites.

    Banks are also required to take measures to reduce the call wait time i.e. the time before connecting to an agent, as much as possible to avoid inconvenience to the customers.

    Further, banks will also ensure that call agents do not refuse to lodge complaint and a proper complaint number is provided to all the complainants.

  • Share market declines by 160 points in range bound trading

    Share market declines by 160 points in range bound trading

    KARACHI: The share market declined by 160 points on Thursday in a range bound trading activity during the day.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 44,428 points as against previous day’s closing of 44,588 points, showing a decline of 160 points.

    Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market traded range bound today with an oscillation between -254 points and +290 points.

    Federal cabinet’s decision not to import cotton yarn and sugar from India, added to the confusion amongst Investors, who warmly welcomed the hint of it yesterday.

    On the other hand, leverage positions in tech and refinery stocks have continually caused selling pressure in the market, whereby declining prices of pertinent stocks made the concerned investors revisit the investment decision.

    Selling pressure was evident in Cement, Steel, Banks, which brought the index down by the end of session. News of vaccine manufacturing by SEARL, helped the stock make a leap towards upper circuit.

    Similarly, ENGRO hit upper circuit on the expectation of new investment in a polypropylene plant. Among volume leaders, BYCO topped the volumes with 30.3 million shares, followed by TRG (25.3 million) and GGL (17.9 million).

    Sectors contributing to the performance include Technology (-121 points), Cement (-64 points), Banks (-42 points), Refinery (-40 points), O&GMCs (-32 points).

    Volumes declined from 443.9 million shares to 313.5 million shares (-29 percent DoD). Average traded value also declined by 33 percent to reach US$ 113.7 million as against US$ 169 million.

    Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include BYCO, TRG, GGL, PTC and UNITY, which formed 34 percent of total volumes.

    Stocks that contributed positively to the index include ENGRO (+152 points), DAWH (+33 points), SEARL (+30 points), SRVI (+18 points) and HUBC (+16 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include TRG (-108 points), LUCK (-20 points), PSO (-19 points), ATRL (-18 points) and MEBL (-18 points).

  • Rupee slips by 54 paisas on import, corporate payment demand

    Rupee slips by 54 paisas on import, corporate payment demand

    KARACHI: The Pak Rupee slipped by 54 paisas on Thursday owing to high demand for import and corporate payments.

    The rupee ended Rs153.30 to the dollar from previous day’s closing of Rs152.76 in the interbank foreign exchange market.

    Currency dealers said market witnessed high demand of the foreign currency for import and corporate payments during the day. They said that due to quarter ending corporate sector was seen buying the foreign currency to send profit and dividends to their parent companies abroad.

    They, however, said that the encouraging inflows of remittances and export receipts would help the rupee to make gain in coming days.

  • Monthly exports in March 2021 highest in decade: Razak Dawood

    Monthly exports in March 2021 highest in decade: Razak Dawood

    In a significant economic development, Pakistan’s exports soared to $2.345 billion in March 2021, marking a remarkable 13.4 percent increase compared to February 2021.

    (more…)
  • FBR issues list of non-profit organizations eligible for tax credit

    FBR issues list of non-profit organizations eligible for tax credit

    ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has restricted the benefit of tax concession to 62 non-profit organizations (NPOs) under Tax Laws (Second Amendment) Ordinance, 2021.

    (more…)
  • FBR needs Rs1,306 billion to achieve annual collection target

    FBR needs Rs1,306 billion to achieve annual collection target

    ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is required Rs1,306 billion during the last quarter (April-June) to achieve revised downward target of Rs4,700 billion set for the current fiscal year.

    According to provisional figures released by the FBR on Wednesday, the net collection was Rs3,394 billion during the first nine months (July – March) 2020/2021 as compared with Rs3,3,076  billion in the corresponding months of the last fiscal year, showing an increase of 10 percent.

    The collection in the first nine months of the current fiscal year has also exceeded by over Rs100 billion against the target of Rs3,287 billion set for the period.

    The original revenue collection target for the current fiscal year was set at Rs4,963 billion. However, sources in the FBR said that the target has been revised downward to Rs4,700 billion.

    Therefore, the FBR is required to collect more Rs1,306 billion in the remaining three months of the current fiscal year to achieve the target.

    According to a statement issued by the FBR, the net collection for the month of March 2021 was Rs.475 billion, against a required increase of Rs.367 billion, representing an increase of 46 percent over Rs.325 billion collected in March 2020 and 129 percent of the target.

    “The year-on-year growth of 46 percent is unprecedented. These figures would further improve before the close of the day and after book adjustments have been taken into account,” the FBR said.

    On the other hand, the gross collections increased from Rs.3,178 billion during this period last year to Rs.3,571 billion this year, showing an increase of 13 percent.

    The amount of refunds disbursed was Rs.177 billion compared to Rs.102 billion paid last year, showing an increase of 74 percent. This is reflective of FBR’s resolve to fast-track refunds to prevent liquidity shortages in the industry.

    The improved revenue performance is a reflection of growing economic activities in the country despite facing the challenge of third wave of COVID-19. During April-June 2021, it is expected that this revenue performance would be improved substantially compared to 2020 when economic activities were disrupted due to COVID.

    Meanwhile, FBR’s efforts to broaden the tax base are expending apace. Early signs suggest such efforts are bearing fruits. As on 28-2-2021, income tax returns for tax year 2020 have reached 2.8 million compared to 2.6 million last year, showing an increase of 8 percent. The tax deposited with returns was Rs.51 billion compared to only Rs.33.0 billion, showing an increase of 54 percent.

    It may be recalled that last year the final date for submission to returns was 28th February. FBR’s decision to adhere to 8th December as the last date has been vindicated as more returns and higher tax payments have been recorded during the tax year 2020 compared to 2019.

    Moreover, a number of 123,680 new Income Tax Returns have been received for Tax Year 2020 resulting into collection of additional tax of Rs. 511 million.

    Sales tax returns for the period from July 2020 to February 2021 have reached 179,584 whereas they were 167,769 in the corresponding months last year, showing an increase of 7.04 percent. The sales tax paid with returns is 624 billion this year which was 536 billion last year, showing an increase of 16.41 percent.

    FBR has also released the information about Tier-I retailers who have been integrated with POS system. According to the information, 10283 sales points have been integrated with Point of Sales Linked Invoicing System.

  • Petrol price reduced to Rs110.35 per liter

    Petrol price reduced to Rs110.35 per liter

    ISLAMABAD: The government on Wednesday announced a decline of Rs1.55 per liter petrol to Rs110.35 for the next fortnight starting April 01, 2021.

    According to revised petroleum prices issued by the finance division the price of petrol has been revised downward by Rs1.55 per liter to Rs110.35 from existing price of Rs111.90.

    The price of high speed diesel has been reduced by Rs3 per liter to Rs113.08 from Rs116.08.

    Similarly, the per liter kerosene oil has been reduced by Rs1.55 to Rs82.06 from Rs83.61.

    Likewise, the price of light diesel oil has been brought down by Rs1.56 per liter to Rs79.86 from exiting Rs81.42.

    The prices will be effective from April 01, 2021.

  • FTO proposes simplification of income tax return forms

    FTO proposes simplification of income tax return forms

    ISLAMABAD: Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) has advised the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to simplify income tax return forms in consultation with stakeholders to facilitate the taxpayers.

    In its proposals for the budget 2021/2022, the FTO recommended simplification of returns forms in consultations with small taxpayers along with availability of option of filing the returns in Urdu.

    Similarly, an option to file the returns manually with facility provided by the FBR to upload on line data was also proposed.

    The FBR in response to the FTO stated that simplified Income Tax Returns for salaried, small traders having turnover up to Rs10 million, manufacturing Small & Medium Enterprises (SME’s) having turnover up to Rs50 million have been issued.

    It was recommended that FBR should devise some system so that sunset date of filing return is not extended but late filing may be allowed with certain incremental penalty for delay in filing per month or any part of it.

    The FBR responded that in 2020, last date of December 08 was not extended. According to FBR, Income Tax Return making rules have been issued. Though these are applicable for Tax Year 2022 but FBR is following this for Tax Year 2021 and return forms would be available by 1st July (to be submitted within due date without extension on last date).

    The FTO proposed that FBR may approach the concerned Authorities/Establishment Division, to issue instructions to bind the heads of government departments, autonomous bodies and large scale public sector organizations to get the certificate of filing of returns by their employees falling in the tax net at the end of the last date and to link their promotion/annual increments with mandatory return filing.

    Regarding audit, it was proposed to rationalize its parameters so that more focus should be laid on large entities rather than small taxpayers.

    Moreover audits should also include investigative work to detect the evasion through a study of input/output standards of utility bills and production capacity of machinery etc. Several cases for audit should in line with capacity of FBR to complete the audit in a year.