ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has posted 4.68 percent growth in revenue collection during first quarter (July – September) of the current fiscal year despite the fact for the first time the FBR achieved Rs1 trillion collection mark in a quarter.
(more…)Author: Mrs. Anjum Shahnawaz
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Headline inflation increases by 9 percent in September
ISLAMABAD: The headline inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 9.0 percent on year-on-year basis in September 2020 as compared to an increase of 8.2 percent in the previous month and 11.4 percent in September 2019, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) said on Friday.
On month-on-month basis, it increased by 1.5 percent in September 2020 as compared to an increase of 0.6 percent in the previous month and an increase of 0.8 percent in September 2019.
CPI inflation Urban, increased by 7.7 percent on year-on-year basis in September 2020 as compared to an increase of 7.1 percent in the previous month and 11.6 percent in September 2019. On month-on-month basis, it increased by 1.3 percent in September 2020 as compared to an increase of 0.8 percent in the previous month and an increase of 0.7 percent in September 2019.
CPI inflation Rural, increased by 11.1 percent on year-on-year basis in September 2020 as compared to an increase of 9.9 percent in the previous month and 11.1 percent in September 2019. On month-on-month basis, it increased by 2.0 percent in September 2020 as compared to an increase of 0.4 percent in the previous month and an increase of 0.8 percent in September 2019.
Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) inflation on YoY increased by 12.0 percent in September 2020 as compared to an increase of 11.7 percent a month earlier and an increase of 14.7 percent in September 2019. On MoM basis, it increased by 2.1 percent in September 2020 as compared to an increase of 0.9 percent a month earlier and an increase of 1.9 percent in September 2019.
Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation on YoY basis increased by 4.3 percent in September 2020 as compared to an increase of 3.3 percent a month earlier and an increase of 15.9 percent in September 2019. WPI inflation on MoM basis increased by 1.0 percent in September 2020 as compared to a decrease of 1.3 percent a month earlier and an increase of 0.1 percent in corresponding month of last year i.e. September 2019.
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Policy for import of bullet proof vehicles unveiled
ISLAMABAD: The ministry of commerce has unveiled policy for import of bullet proof vehicles both in new and used condition.
The ministry issued SRO 902(I)/2020 dated September 25, 2020 to notify Import Policy Order, 2020 and explained the requirement for import of bullet proof vehicles.
The bullet proof vehicles are importable on the recommendation of Ministry of Interior subject to following conditions:
(i) Requests for import of bullet proof vehicles are routed through concerned Provincial Government, which will determine the genuineness of the requirements of the applicant;
(ii) The applicant will clearly indicate the features of the vehicle proposed to be imported by him;
(iii) Undertaking be obtained from the applicant that he will ply the vehicle only in high security risk areas; and
(iv) The vehicle will only be disposed of after obtaining NOC from Ministry of Interior.
(v) The same conditions and procedures mentioned above shall apply mutatis mutandis, if bullet proof vehicles are imported under Personal Baggage, gift and Transfer of Residence Schemes.
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Stock markets decline by 606 points on political uncertainty, coronavirus
KARACHI: The stock market fell by 606 points on Friday owing to political uncertainty and spread of coronavirus.
The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 40,070 points as against 40,677 points showing a decline of 606 points.
Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market saw continuation of selling pressure for a host of reasons from political uncertainty to spread of Corona cases (with the latest affectee being President Trump himself).
The index lost a total of 771 points during the session and closed the session -606 points. International crude oil prices dropped significantly, especially after announcement of President Trump’s being tested positive for Corona.
This caused selling in local E&P stocks, OGDC, PPL and POL. At the same time, redemptions in Mutual Funds prompted institutional sell-off as well.
Volumes remained heavily tilted in favour of O&GMCs, particularly HASCOL, however, the stock price saw lower circuit among other tech stocks that saw sky high prices in the previous run-up. HASCOL topped the volumes with 52.6 million shares, followed by KEL (35.1 million) and TRG (24.6 million).
Sectors contributing to the performance include E&P (-135 points), O&GMCs (-78 points), Banks (-71 points), Cement (-57 points) and Technology (-55 points).
Volumes declined further from 371.8 million shares to 348.6 million shares (-6 percent DoD). Average traded value also declined by 0.6 percent to reach US$ 75.6 million as against US$ 76 million.
Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include HASCOL, KEL, TRG, UNITY and PIBTL, which formed 44 percent of total volumes.
Stocks that contributed positively to the index include HUBC (+16 points), BAHL (+16 points), ILP (+4 points), HCAR (+4 points) and AGIL (+3 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include PPL (-51 points), OGDC (-45 points), TRG (-36 points), POL (-33 points) and PSO (-30 points).
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Rupee gains 49 paisas against dollar on inflows of export receipts, remittances
KARACHI: The Pak Rupee gained 49 paisas against dollar on Friday owing to improved inflows of workers’ remittances, dealers said.
The rupee ended Rs164.51 to the dollar from previous day’s closing of Rs165.00 in interbank foreign exchange market.
Currency experts said that during the day the market had witnessed supply from banks in the shape of export receipts and workers’ remittances.
They said that during the week the positive sentiments and improved inflows helped the local units to make gain.
The local currency gained around Rs1.28 against the dollar during the week. The experts said that the rupee had support from inflows besides surplus current account and reduction in trade deficit.
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SBP softens quarantine for banknotes processed through certified machines
KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday relaxed the condition for banks of ensuring 14-day quarantine period for those banknotes processed through machines certified by Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR).
The SBP said that it had imposed a condition on May 04, 2020 under which banks were advised to quarantine cash collected from the public for fourteen (14) days before re-issuing the same.
The SBP further said that the 14- day quarantine for banknotes was introduced in line with the international practices and World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.
In view of availability of a number of banknote disinfection machines and technologies, it has been decided that the banks shall have the option to either continue with the fourteen (14) days quarantine requirements or process banknotes through Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) certified machines in lieu of the fourteen (14) days quarantine.
The banks procuring such machines shall ensure that the PCSIR certificate specifically mentions the capacity of the machine to disinfect Bacteria and Viruses including the SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19.
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FBR to monitor sugar production through surveillance cameras
ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) will monitor production of sugar through surveillance cameras that will be installed at sugar mills.
In this regard a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between FBR and Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA).
The signing ceremony was held at FBR headquarter. Member IR Operations Dr. Muhammad Ashfaq Ahmed signed the agreement on behalf of the FBR and PSMA President Sikandar Khan signed on behalf of the association.
The FBR on September 21, 2020 issued rules regarding monitoring of production through video links.
On the occasion, Dr. Muhammad Ashfaq, Member IR-Operations said that the FBR was taking all measures to reduce interaction between tax officials and taxpayers and trying to facilitate taxpayers for ease of doing business.
In this regard vide analytics has been introduced, he said, adding that through this technology the monitoring of production would be done through advanced cameras.
He said that FBR would take help of this technology to monitor sugar production for accurate estimates and tax collection.
PSMA President Sikandar Khan praised the FBR initiatives and said that the sugar mills had voluntarily agreed on electronic monitoring of sugar production.
He hoped that the efforts of FBR to use technology and it would improve image of the tax organization.
Tariq Shaikh, Project Director briefed the participants on video analytics and said that recognized vendors would provide technological support to sugar mills and through this the production sites would be directly connected to FBR’s control room.
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SRB collects Rs26.38 billion in July – September
KARACHI: Sindh Revenue Board (SRB) has collected Rs26.38 billion in July – September of the current fiscal year as compared with Rs22.89 billion in the same period of the last fiscal year, showing a growth of 15.2 percent.
A statement on Thursday said that heavy rains in the month of August 2020 severely compounded the woes of service sector businesses, already immensely high by COVID-19. Had that not been the case, the quarterly growth achieved by the SRB would have been better, it added.
During the month of September 2020, SRB collected Rs10.43 billion as compared to the collection of Rs8.9 billion during September 2019, showing a growth of 16.4 percent.
The SRB said that it acknowledged the support of the provincial government and dedication of its officials for realizing the revenue growth during the month and on the quarterly basis.
The SRB is focusing to achieve the assigned revenue collection target of Rs135 billion during the current fiscal year, although, the target is ambitious with a growth of 27 percent as compared to the collection of Rs106 billion during the last fiscal year.
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FBR sets up cell to probe bogus refund claims
ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has established a cell to probe fake refund claims in order to make system transparent.
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Foreign exchange reserves dip by $369 million
KARACHI: The liquid foreign exchange reserves of the country fell by $369 million to $19.535 billion by week ended September 25, 2020, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Thursday.
The foreign exchange reserves of the country were at $19.904 billion by week ended September 18, 2020.
The official reserves of the SBP have come down by $342 million to $12.36 billion by week ended September 25, 2020 as compared with $12.702 billion a week ago.
The central bank attributed the decline to the government external debt payments amounting to $311 million, and other official payments.
The foreign exchange reserves held by commercial banks fell by $27 million to $7.175 billion by week ended September 25, 2020 as compared with $7.202 billion a week ago.