Pkrevenue.com

Author: Mrs. Anjum Shahnawaz

  • Customs official awarded ‘dismissal from service’ for misconduct

    Customs official awarded ‘dismissal from service’ for misconduct

    ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Thursday awarded major penalty of ‘dismissal from service’ upon a customs official on the charges of misconduct.

    An office order issued by the FBR stated that disciplinary proceedings under Government Servants

    (Efficiency & Discipline) Rules, 1973 were initiated against Riaz-ul-Haq, Inspector (BS-16), Model Customs Collectorate (Enforcement & Compliance), Lahore on October 28, 2014 on account of his unauthorized absence from duty since April 02, 2014.

    Ms. Ammara Durrani, the then Deputy Collector (PCS/BS-18), MCC (Appraisement), Lahore was appointed as Inquiry Officer to conduct inquiry on various acts of gross “Misconduct” as prescribed in Rule 3(b) of the Government Service (E&D) Rules, 1973.

    The Inquiry Officer submitted her inquiry report April 15, 2015, according to which the charge leveled against the accused officer has been established.

    A show cause notice was issued on August 01, 2016 to the accused officer and he was also called for personal hearing by the Authorized Officer on September 10, 2020.

    After considering the charge framed in the charge sheet, inquiry report and other documentary evidences, the Authorized Officer is of the considered opinion that the accused officer has been found guilty of “Misconduct” under rules 3(b) of the Government Servants (Efficiency and Discipline) Rules, 1973 and recommended to the Member (Admn)/ Authority to impose upon the accused officer the major penalty of “Dismissal from Service” under Rule 4(1)(b)(iv) of the Government Servants (Efficiency and Discipline) Rules, 1973.

    The Member (Admn) FBR being Authority in this case, after having considered all aspects of the case and the recommendations of the Authorized Officer has therefore, imposed the major penalty of “Dismissal from Service” upon Riaz-ul-Haq, Inspector 3 with immediate effect.

    The period of his unauthorized absence from duty from 02.04.2014 onwards is treated as Extra Ordinary Leave (EOL) without pay as admissible under the rules.

    He shall have the right of Appeal as admissible in the Civil Servants (Appeal) Rules, 1977.

  • Country’s foreign exchange reserves increase to $19.302 billion

    Country’s foreign exchange reserves increase to $19.302 billion

    KARACHI: The liquid foreign exchange reserves of the country increased by $287 million to $19.302 billion by week ended October 16, 2020, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Thursday.

    The foreign exchange reserves of the country were at $19.015 billion by week ended October 09, 2020.

    The official reserves of the central bank also increased by $269 million to $12.067 billion by week ended October 16, 2020 as compared with $11.798 billion a week ago.

    The SBP attributed the increase in official reserves to the government inflows.

    The foreign exchange reserves held by commercial banks witnessed nominal increase of $18 million to $7.235 billion by week ended by October 16, 2020 as compared with $7.217 billion a week ago.

  • Stock market falls by 337 points on profit booking

    Stock market falls by 337 points on profit booking

    KARACHI: The stock market witnessed a decline of 337 points on Thursday as investors opted for profit booking during the day.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 41,199 points as against 41,536 points showing a decline of 337 points.

    Volumes declined from 661.3 million shares to 500.1 million shares. Average traded value also declined by 21 percent to reach US$ 106.9 million as against US$ 135.1 million.

    Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market opened on a positive note today +50 points, and following the momentum since the beginning of the week the index added a total of 282 points during the session.

    Profit booking brought the index down by 448 points and closed the session -337 points.

    Rather than any negative development on economic or political front, today’s profit booking was largely an outcome of risk taking at the beginning of this week that paid well yesterday and today.

    Tomorrow is the decision day for FATF, which will be announced post market in the evening and will have its impact next week Monday. Among scrips, UNITY continued topping the index with 61.3 million shares, followed by PIBTL (56.3 million) and MLCF (44.5 million).

    Sectors contributing to the performance include E&P (-110 points), Power (-85 points), O&GMCs (-38 points), Pharma (-22 points) and Technology (-19 points).

    Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include UNITY, PIBTL, MLCF, HASCOL and TRG, which formed 46 percent of total volumes.

    Stocks that contributed positively to the index include BAHL (+74 points), HMB (+17 points), MLCF (+15 points), MTL (+10 points) and FFC (+10 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include HUBC (-71 points), OGDC (-40 points), PPL (-33 points), POL (-20 points) and MEBL (-20 points).

  • Ogra imposes penalty of Rs10 million on Hascol Petroleum

    Ogra imposes penalty of Rs10 million on Hascol Petroleum

    The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has imposed a penalty of Rs10 million on Hascol Petroleum Limited and suspended its marketing license for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The regulatory action, communicated to Hascol on October 20, 2020, was disclosed by the company in a notification to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday.

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  • Banking fraud: Rs7.6 million withdrawn on un-signed cheque

    Banking fraud: Rs7.6 million withdrawn on un-signed cheque

    ISLAMABAD: A bank account holder is fortunate to get back an amount of Rs7.6 million on the intervention of Banking Mohtasib (Ombudsman) Pakistan. The amount was fraudulently withdrawn from the account on a foraged cheque and the branch manager was found involved in the fraud.

    A case related to cash withdrawn on forged cheque is reported in the fifteenth Annual Report of Banking Mohtasib Pakistan for the year ending 31 December 2019.

    The report said that the complainant was maintaining a joint account with his wife with operational instructions “Either or Survivor” since December 18, 2012.

    “They had neither applied for a cheque book nor any cheque book was ever delivered to them, yet an amount of Rs 7.600 (M) was withdrawn from their account without their consent and knowledge.

    “The Complainant demanded refund, but the Bank paid no heed to his request.

    “Complainant, therefore, lodged a complaint with the Banking Mohtasib.”

    The Bank was asked to submit detailed investigation report along with copies of AOF, SS Card, KYC, disputed cheque No. 105805316 for Rs 7,600,000/- dated 21.04.2017 (both sides), statement of account and cheque book issuance request and delivery proof thereof.

    The Bank provided the requisite documents. On examination of the provided documents it was found that: According to the Complainant, they had never applied for issuance of any cheque book at any time.

    “From the Cheque book requisition request it was observed that the signature thereon was clearly different from the signature of Complainant recorded on his AOF and S. S. Card. Clearly, therefore, the cheque book was issued against a fake signature,” the report said.

    On perusal of cheque dated 21-04-2017 for Rs 7.600 (M), it was observed that it was not signed at all.

    As per Complainant, the cheque was not mandated. It was obvious that the Bank cleared the unsigned cheque which was a nullity in law.

    Further, neither any Call-back Confirmation was done nor could the Bank explain in its defence as to how payment was made on a cheque which was void under law and not a cheque at all.

    The payment of huge sum of Rs 7.600 (M) in cash was also surprising.

    Due to the seriousness of the lapses on the part of the Bank, the case was set for a formal hearing on May 2, 2019 at our Regional Office, Rawalpindi.

    The Bank’s representative produced related Cheque Book Requisition slip (CBR) along with paid cheque.

    On examination of CBR it was observed that a cheque book of five leaves, bearing number 105805316 to 105805320, was issued on April 21, 2017.

    The signature on CBR did not match with the signature of the Complainant available in the Bank’s record i.e. AOF & S. S. Card, whereas the Cheque number 105805316 dated 21-04-2017 against which payment of Rs 7,600,000/- was made found to be un- signed.

    On further scrutiny it was observed that cash recipient’s signatures were also not available on the back of the cheque as well as denominational details were also not furnished on the back of the cheque as against general banking practice.

    Moreover, the Bank also failed to provide any record of Call-back Confirmation (CBC) to the Account-holder as per its own SOP as the cheque was of a very large sum and payment had to be made in cash.

    The Bank officials submitted that the Ex-Branch Manager, who was involved in this scam, has absconded and the Bank has lodged a report with the FIA after its initial enquiry.

    It is a well settled principle of law that the employer is vicariously liable for any fraud or other wrong doing of his employee committed in the course of his employment, whether for the benefit of the employer or not.

    In view of the above findings and as admitted position, it was concluded that the Complainant is entitled for his lump sum claim of Rs 7,600,000/- from the Bank.

    Therefore, the Bank was advised to forthwith refund the sum of Rs 7,600,000/- to the Complainant.

    The Bank subsequently, filed representation with the President Islamic Republic of Pakistan against the Order passed by the Banking Mohtasib under Section 14 of Federal Ombudsmen Institutions Reforms Act – 2013 (FOIRA) where the Order of Banking Mohtasib was up-held.

  • Banks should aware customers about online frauds: Ombudsman

    Banks should aware customers about online frauds: Ombudsman

    ISLAMABAD: The Banking Mohtasib (Ombudsman) of Pakistan has recommended that at the time of activation of online services Banks/ Microfinance Banks relevant staff shall educate customers about various types of online banking frauds as well as the corresponding preventive measures.

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  • National Savings: Rules notified for identification of customers, beneficial owners

    National Savings: Rules notified for identification of customers, beneficial owners

    ISLAMABAD: National Savings (AML and CFT) Supervisory Board for National Savings Schemes has issued SRO 956(I)/2020 for identification and verification of customers, beneficial owners of saving schemes.

    According to the SRO regulations shall be called the National Savings (AML and CFT) Regulations, 2020.

    The chapter III of the regulations explained the identification and verification of customers and beneficial owners.

    Identification and verification.- (1) Central Directorate of National Savings (CDNS) shall –

    (a) conduct CDD in the circumstances and matters set out in subsection

    (1) of section 7A of AML Act; and

    (b) for the purposes of conducting CDD as required under sub-section

    (2) of section 7A of the AML Act in the circumstances set out under sub-section (1) of the said section 7A comply with sub-regulations (2) to (18) of regulation 4.

    (2) CDNS shall –

    (a) identify the customer; and

    (b) verify the identity of that customer using reliable and independent documents, data or information as set out in sub-regulation (9) of regulation 4.

    (3) Where the customer is represented by an authorized agent or representative, CDNS shall –

    (a) identify every person who acts on behalf of the customer;

    (b) verify the identity of such person by using reliable and independent documents, data or information as set out in sub-regulation (9) of regulation 4; and

    (c) verify the authority of the person who is acting on behalf of the customer.

    (4) CDNS shall also identify the beneficial owner and take reasonable measures to verify the identity of the beneficial owner by using reliable and independent documents, data or sources of information as set out in regulation (9) of regulation 4, such that CDNS is satisfied that it knows who the beneficial owner is.

    (5) For customers that are legal persons or legal arrangements, CDNS shall understand the nature of such customer’s business and its ownership and control structure.

    (6) For customers that are legal persons or legal arrangements, CDNS shall identify the customer and verify its identity by obtaining the following information, in addition to the information required in sub-regulation (9) of regulation 4, namely:

    (a) name, legal status and proof of existence;

    (b) the powers that regulate and bind the legal person or arrangement, as well as the names of the relevant persons having a senior management position in the legal person or arrangement; and

    (c) the address of the registered office and, if different, a principal place of business.

    (7) For customers that are legal persons, CDNS shall identify and take reasonable measures to verify the identity of beneficial owners by –

    (a) identifying the natural person, if any, who ultimately has a direct or indirect controlling ownership interest, as defined under relevant laws, in a legal person; and

    (b) to the extent that there is doubt under clause (a), as to whether the person with the controlling ownership interest is the beneficial owner or where no natural person exerts control through ownership interests, the identity of the natural person, if any, exercising control of the legal person or arrangement through other means; and

    (c) where no natural person is identified under clause (a) or clause (b), the identity of the relevant natural persons who hold the position of senior managing official.

    (8) For customers that are legal arrangements, CDNS shall identify and take reasonable measures to verify the identity of beneficial owners as follows, namely:-

    (a) for trusts, the identity of the settlor, the trustee, the protector, if any, the beneficiaries or class of beneficiaries, and any other natural persons exercising ultimate effective control over the trust, including through a chain of control or ownership;

    (b) for waqfs and other types of legal arrangements, the identity of persons in equivalent or similar positions as specified in clause (a); and

    (c) where any of the persons specified in clause (a) or (b) is a legal person or arrangement, the identity of the beneficial owner of that legal person or arrangement shall be identified.

    (9) For the purposes of verification of identity of customers or beneficial owners in sub-regulations (2) to (8), reliable and independent document, data or sources of information includes –

    (a) For a natural person, a copy of:

    (i) Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC) issued by NADRA; or

    (ii) National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP) or passport for non-residents or overseas Pakistanis or those who have dual nationality; or

    (iii) Pakistan Origin Card (POC) or passport for Pakistanis who have given up Pakistan nationality; or

    (iv) Form B or Juvenile card to children under 18 years of age; or

    (v) where the natural person is a foreign national, either an Alien Registration Card (ARC) or a passport having valid visa on it or any other proof of legal stay along with passport.

    (b) for a legal person, a certified copy of –

    (i) resolution of board of directors for opening of account specifying the persons authorized to open and operate the account (not applicable for single member company);

    (ii) memorandum of association;

    (iii) articles of association, wherever applicable;

    (iv) certificate of incorporation;

    (v) Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) registered declaration for commencement of business as required under the Companies Act, 2017 (XIX of 2017), as applicable;

    (vi) list of directors required to be filed under the Companies Act, 2017 (XIX of 2017), as applicable;

    (vii) identity documents as per clause (a) of all the directors, beneficial owners and persons authorized to open and operate the account.

    (viii) any other documents as deemed necessary including its annual accounts and financial statements or disclosures in any form which may help to ascertain the detail of its activities, sources and usage of funds in order to assess the risk profile of the prospective customer.

    (c) for a legal arrangement, certified copies of –

    (i) the instrument creating the legal arrangement;

    (ii) registration documents and certificates;

    (iii) the legal arrangement’s by-laws, rules and regulations;

    (iv) documentation authorizing any persons to open and operate the account;

    (v) identity document as per clause (a) of sub-regulation (9) of the authorized persons, beneficial owners and of the members of governing body, board of trustees or executive committee, if it is ultimate governing body, of the legal arrangement; and

    (vi) any other documents as deemed necessary including its annual accounts and financial statements or disclosures in any form which may help to ascertain the subject of the trust, the detail of its activities, sources and usage of funds in order to assess the risk profile of the prospective customer.

    (d) In respect of government institutions and entities not covered above, –

    (i) CNICs of the authorized persons; and

    (ii) letter of authorization from the concerned authority.

    (10) CDNS shall verify the identity of the customer and beneficial owner before or during the course of establishing a business relationship or conducting occasional transactions.

    (11) CDNS may complete verification of the identity of the customer and the beneficial owner after the establishment of the business relationship, provided that –

    (a) this occurs as soon as reasonably practicable;

    (b) this is essential not to interrupt the normal conduct of business; and

    (c) the risks are proven to be low.

    (12) CDNS shall have and implement risk management procedures concerning the conditions under which a customer may utilize the business relationship prior to verification.

    (13) CDNS shall conduct ongoing due diligence on the business relationship, including –

    (a) scrutinizing transactions undertaken throughout the course of the relationship to ensure that the transactions being conducted are consistent with CDNS’s knowledge of the customer, their business and risk profile, including where necessary, the source of funds; and

    (b) undertaking reviews of existing records and ensuring that documents, data or information collected for the CDD purposes are kept up-to-date and relevant, particularly for higher risk categories of customers.

    (14) CDNS shall apply CDD requirements to existing customers on the basis of materiality and risk, and shall conduct ongoing due diligence on such existing relationships at appropriate times, taking into account whether and when CDD measures have previously been undertaken and the adequacy of the data and documents previously obtained.

    (15) CDNS shall apply the countermeasures sanctioned by the Federal Government, pursuant to recommendations by the National Executive Committee, when called upon to do so by the FATF.

    (16) CDNS shall apply EDD in the following circumstances, including but not limited to –

    (a) business relationships and transactions with natural persons or legal persons and legal arrangements when the ML and TF risks are higher;

    (b) business relationships and transactions with natural persons or legal persons and legal arrangements from countries for which this is called for by the FATF; and

    (c) PEPs and their close associates and family members.

    (17) EDD measures may include, but shall not be limited to, the following measures, namely:-

    (a) obtaining additional information on the customer (e.g. volume of assets, information available through public databases, internet, etc.), and updating more regularly the identification data of customer and beneficial owner;

    (b) obtaining additional information on the intended nature of the business relationship;

    (c) obtaining information on the source of funds or source of wealth of the customer;

    (d) obtaining information on the reasons for intended or performed transactions.

    (e) obtaining the approval of Senior Management to commence or continue the business relationship; and

    (f) conducting enhanced monitoring of the business relationship by increasing the number and timing of controls applied and selecting patterns of transactions that need further examination.

    (18) In relation to clause (c) of sub-regulation (16), CDNS shall –

    (a) implement appropriate risk management systems to determine if a customer or beneficial owner is a PEP or a close associate or family member of a PEP, both prior to establishing a business relationship or conducting a transaction, and on an on-going basis throughout the course of the business relationship;

    (b) at a minimum, apply the following EDD measures –

    (i) obtain approval from senior management to establish or continue a business relationship where the customer or a beneficial owner is a PEP, close associate or family member of a PEP or subsequently becomes a PEP, close associate and family member of a PEP;

    (ii) take reasonable measures to establish the source of wealth and the source of funds of customers and beneficial owners identified as a PEP, close associate or family member of a PEP; and

    (iii) conduct enhanced ongoing monitoring of business relations with the customer or beneficial owner identified as a PEP, close associate and family member of a PEP.

    (19) CDNS may allow the application of SDD only where lower risks have been identified through an adequate analysis through its own risk assessment and any other risk assessments publicly available or provided by Supervisory Board in accordance with subregulation (3) of regulation 3 and commensurate with the lower risk factors.

    (20) SDD measures may include but shall not be limited to –

    (a) verifying the identity of the customer and the beneficial owner after the establishment of the business relationship;

    (b) reducing the degree of on-going monitoring and scrutinizing transactions; and

    (c) not collecting specific information or carrying out specific measures to understand the purpose and intended nature of the business relationship but inferring the purpose and nature from the type of transactions or business relationship established.

  • Engro Fertilizers announces 112 percent growth in quarterly profit

    Engro Fertilizers announces 112 percent growth in quarterly profit

    KARACHI: Engro Fertilizers Limited has recorded massive growth of around 112 percent for the quarter ended September 30, 2020 owing to increase in sales and lower payment of taxes.

    In its financial results submitted to Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Wednesday, the company announced profit after tax of Rs7.03 billion for the quarter ended September 30, 2020 as compared with Rs3.32 billion in the same quarter of the last year.

    The sales of the company registered 38 percent growth to Rs37.43 billion for the quarter under review as compared with Rs27.1 billion in the same quarter of the last year.

    The payment of tax by the company was Rs169.36 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2020 as compared with the tax payment of Rs2.65 billion in the same quarter of the last year.

    The gross profit of the company was at Rs10.84 billion for the quarter under review as compared with Rs8.84 billion in the same quarter last year.

    Administrative expenses of the company increased to Rs514.67 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2020 as compared with Rs296.36 million in the corresponding quarter of the last year.

    The company announced earnings per share of Rs5.27 for the quarter under review as compared with EPS of Rs2.49 in the same quarter of the last year.

  • Share market gains 579 points on better banking results

    Share market gains 579 points on better banking results

    KARACHI: The share market gained 579 points on Wednesday owing to better financial results by the banking sector.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 41,536 points as against 40,956 points showing an increase of 579 points.

    Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that this is the third consecutive positive closing of KSE-100 since the beginning of the week, where the Index has added around 1400 points from last week’s closing level.

    Though the weekend left vestiges of political uncertainty, institutional investors kept brisk buying activity on the back of quarterly earnings.

    Banking sector results announced so far has helped Index sustain existing rates, where the investors took positions in Oil & gas, Cement and Power sector stocks with a positive view on FATF ruling scheduled to be announced by end of week, on Friday.

    Fertilizer sector outperformed today on the back of healthy earnings and hefty dividend declaration from EFERT, the result of which was seen on ENGRO as well.

    By the end of session, UBL saw buying activity that helped regain points lost due to profit booking in PSO.

    Among scrips, UNITY led the volumes with 64.4 million shares, followed by PIBTL (63.9 million) and HASCOL (47.2 million).

    Sectors contributing to the performance include Banks (+185 points), Fertilizer (+116 points), Technology (+53 points), Power (+32 points) and E&P (+22 points).

    Volumes increased from 492.6 million shares to 661.3 million shares (+34 percent DoD). Average traded value also increased by 33 percent to reach US$ 134.9 million as against US$ 101.1 million.

    Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include UNITY, PIBTL, HASCOL, PRL and ASL, which formed 38 percent of total volumes.

    Stocks that contributed positively to the index include BAHL (+77 points), ENGRO (+46 points), EFERT (+43 points), HUBC (+34 points) and SYS (+26 points).

    Stocks that contributed negatively include ABOT (-9 points), POL (-7 points), PSO (-7 points), KEL (-4 points) and LOTCHEM (-3 points).

  • SBP extends compliance timeline for banks amid COVID challenges

    SBP extends compliance timeline for banks amid COVID challenges

    KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Wednesday extended timelines for compliance with various regulatory requirements by banks considering the challenges of COVID-19 faced by the financial industry.

    The SBP invited attention to BPRD Circular Letter No 3 of 2020, BPRD Circular No. 02 of 2019, BPRD Circular No. 6 of 2018 and BSD Circular No. 7 of 2003.

    The central bank said that in this regard, based on the representation of the banking industry regarding challenges faced by industry in meeting the timeline due to COVID19, it has been decided to extend the timelines for various SBP circulars/guidelines’ requirements as given below:

    Compliance Risk Management System from March 2020 to October 31, 2020

    Formulation of RCSA and Development of KRIs has been extended form April 2020 October 31, 2020

    First external quality review of Internal Audit Function has been extended from June 30, 2020 to December 31, 2020.

    System for Internal Audit Function has been extended from December 31, 2020 to September 30, 2021.

    The SBP said that In case where the financial institution has already undergone an assessment before issuance of SBP guidelines on Internal Audit Function (IAF), the next assessment would be due after 5 years of the earlier assessment.

    In addition to above, following instructions are being issued to facilitate IAF operations during COVID19 situation.

    Audit/risk review of international jurisdictions (BPRD Circular No. 6 of 2018):

    The banks with overseas operations are allowed a one time wavier from performing annual internal audit and risk reviews of international jurisdictions for year 2020, provided that, the Board Audit Committees (BACs) of respective banks approve adoption of such measures.

    Subsequently, the BAC and Chief Internal Auditor (CIA) shall take all required measures to ensure that risks of these jurisdictions are properly assessed and that any major control/governance deficiencies are properly highlighted through extensive off-site assessments, full scope desktop reviews and discussions with management and other relevant stakeholders at international jurisdictions.

    Credit risk review of all facilities of borrowers (BSD Circular No. 7 of 2003):

    In cases where the credit origination and/or documentation/monitoring is not centralized or digitally accessible, and the risk review teams have to physically visit the branches/credit regions/hubs for review/verification of documentation and monitoring of loans; the banks are allowed a onetime relaxation from conducting physical verification of such documents till October 31, 2020.

    However, the risk review function of the bank shall devise a comprehensive action plan to perform credit reviews for such branches/regions/hubs following a risk based approach and must review documentation through desktop/ offsite approach.

    Besides, the risk review function shall ensure that adopting such approach does not compromise on assessing the health and quality of bank’s credit portfolio and all efforts shall be made to ensure that control are properly implemented and credit risks are timely identified.