Author: Mrs. Anjum Shahnawaz

  • FBR constitutes advance ruling committee

    FBR constitutes advance ruling committee

    ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has constituted a committee for issuing advance ruling on requests submitted by businesses.

    (more…)
  • Pak-Qater signs deal to provide online Takaful services to HashMove clients

    Pak-Qater signs deal to provide online Takaful services to HashMove clients

    KARACHI: Pak-Qatar General Takaful (PQGTL) has signed a MoU with HashMove (a global multi-modal logistics platform) to provide online Takaful coverage for cargo (Sea/Air/Warehousing & Land) for businesses in Pakistan.

    The purpose of this agreement is to enter into a strategic collaboration, enabling marine and fire Takaful service for sea/air and land cargo and commodities trading via digital mediums allowing corporates, businesses, customers of HashMove logistic platform such as importers, of freight forwarders, customers of ground transportation, customers of warehousing companies within Pakistan.

    This is the first time a Takaful Insurance company provides the digital coverage to the logistics businesses allowing them to conduct their export and import with full coverage. The companies aim to achieve at target of issuing at least 1000+ coverage / year to begin with.

    Talking at the occasion, CEO of Pak-Qatar General Takaful, Muhammad Nasir Ali Syed said: “The need of marine coverage by Takaful through digital channel will open a new door for the businesses to grow at a much faster rate with convenience at fingertips.

    “This is the need of the hour and my team is fully committed to extend cooperation and support where needed. Pak-Qatar Takaful has always maintained the position of a leader and firmly believes in offering innovative products through interesting projects and this time we are very excited to offer coverage through our business partner HashMove.”

    Sarfaraz Alam, CEO HashMove stated; “Pak-Qatar General Takaful is the leading Takaful coverage provider in Pakistan and a trustworthy name for settling claims against losses.

    “We are glad that our customers within Pakistan & South Asia will be able to avail Takaful coverage on real time basis. This is the one of the biggest milestones in the logistics industry in Pakistan and we have witnessed upward growth since last 2 years.”

  • NTN mandatory for commercial transactions

    NTN mandatory for commercial transactions

    In a move to enhance transparency and streamline tax-related processes, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has made it mandatory for all individuals and entities involved in commercial transactions to display and quote their National Tax Number (NTN).

    (more…)
  • ECC sets up committee to examine proposal of manufacturing SIM/smart cards

    ECC sets up committee to examine proposal of manufacturing SIM/smart cards

    ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet on Monday constituted a committee to examine a proposal for manufacturing of SIM/Smart-cards in the country.

    The meeting of the cabinet committee was chaired by Advisor to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue, Dr. Abdul Hafeez Sheikh while among others it was attended by Minister for Industries and Production Hammad Azhar, SAPM on Revenue Dr. Waqar Masood, SAPM on Petroleum Nadeem Baber and Advisor to the PM for Institutional Reforms and Austerity Dr. Ishrat Hussain attended the meeting. Governor State Bank of Pakistan Dr. Reza Baqir also participated through video link.

    In light of a summary presented by the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication regarding manufacturing of SIMs/Smart-cards in Pakistan, after due deliberation, the chair directed to constitute a Committee to examine the proposal and present a report for a way forward within two weeks.

    The Committee would be chaired by the Minister of Industries and Production Hammad Azhar and would include representatives from the Ministry of IT & Telecom., FBR and Board of Investment (BOI).

    The ECC constituted a committee to decide a timeline for export of mango and kinnow after due consultation with the stakeholders.

    The committee consisting of representatives from the Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of National Food Security and Research (MNFS&R), according to press statement issued by the Finance Ministry here.

    The ECC approved budgetary allocation in favour of NITB for provision of ICT services at the Prime Minister’s Office for Prime Minister’s Kamyab Jawan Programme for FY/2020-21 to the tune of Rs53 million as requested by the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication.

    The ECC gave concurrence to the proposal by the Petroleum Division, in principal, regarding allocation of gas from Bashar X-IST to third party up to 1.0 MMCFD.

    A summary was presented by the PIACL, Aviation Division before ECC regarding GOP cash support for the Voluntary Separation Scheme (VSS). After thorough discussion, it was decided to approve, in principle, the voluntary separation from service scheme for PIA.

    The ECC also approved four separate Technical Supplementary Grants for the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Interior for various projects during current FY 2020-21.

    Related Stories

    ECC decides to propose increase in wheat support price to Rs1600

    Reduced rates of electricity, gas: ECC approves procedure for registration

  • Stock market ends down by 65 points amid lackluster investors’ response

    Stock market ends down by 65 points amid lackluster investors’ response

    KARACHI: The stock market fell by 65 points on Monday as investors have shown lackluster response owing to rising COVID cases.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 40,504 points from last Friday’s closing of 40,569 points, losing 65 points.

    Analysts at Topline Securities, the stock market had opened the week with a lackluster session with uncertainty regarding the lockdown owing to rising COVID cases.

    The KSE-100 Index managed to close the day at 40,504.75 (down 0.16%) albeit with thin volumes. Positive news flow was there with PTI managing to secure a lead in the Gilgit-Baltistan elections, cement price per bag is expected to increase by PKR 5/bag w.e.f tomorrow and FDI for the month of October 2020 witnessed a growth of 151 percent YoY and 68 percent MoM.

    However, investors shrugged off these positive developments as rising COVID cases continued to weigh on sentiment.

    KEL was today’s volume leader with 24.9 million shares traded and the stock closed the day up 5.04 percent as the federal government sought two weeks’ time from Supreme Court of Pakistan to present a viable solution to Karachi Electric’s (KE) issues including exclusivity after 2023.

    SHEL (up 3.86 percent) also saw renewed buying interest after the company notified the exchange that the BoD have approved an increase in the Authorized Share capital from Rs1.5 billion to Rs3 billion.

    Total traded volume declined by 25 percent DoD to 181.22 million shares while total traded value clocked in at Rs6.17 billion (down 21.8 percent DoD).

  • Rupee eases against dollar

    Rupee eases against dollar

    KARACHI: The Pak Rupee eased against the dollar on Monday after maintaining a 23-day gaining streak. The rupee ended at Rs158.17 to the dollar from last Friday’s closing of Rs158.16 in the interbank foreign exchange market.

    (more…)
  • Tax return filing hits new peak at 2.93 million

    Tax return filing hits new peak at 2.93 million

    ISLAMABAD: The tax return filing has reached a new peak of 2.93 million, according to the updated Active Taxpayers List (ATL) issued by Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Monday.

    (more…)
  • Foreign direct investment grows by 9 percent in four months

    Foreign direct investment grows by 9 percent in four months

    The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reported a 9.1% increase in net inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI) during the first four months of the current fiscal year (July – October). The net FDI inflows amounted to $733 million, up from $672 million in the same period of the previous fiscal year, signaling a moderate improvement in investor confidence in Pakistan’s economy.

    (more…)
  • Special procedure for capital gain tax computation

    Special procedure for capital gain tax computation

    The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has recently implemented a comprehensive update to the special procedure governing the computation of capital gain tax and the collection of tax.

    (more…)
  • Prices of petrol, diesel reduced for next fortnight

    Prices of petrol, diesel reduced for next fortnight

    ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Sunday decided to reduce prices of petroleum products for next fortnight effective from November 16, 2020.

    A statement issued by the finance division said that the price of petrol has been reduced by Rs1.71 per liter and rate of high speed diesel reduced by Rs1.79 per letter.

    The new prices of petroleum products will be as under effective from November 16, 2020:

    Petrol Rs100.69/liter

    High Speed Diesel Rs101.43/liter

    Kerosene Oil Rs 65.29/liter

    Light Diesel Oil Rs62.86