Pkrevenue.com

Author: Mrs. Anjum Shahnawaz

  • Advance ruling for classification of goods implemented

    Advance ruling for classification of goods implemented

    ISLAMABAD: The law of advance ruling for classification of goods or determination of origin has been implemented through Finance Act, 2020 from July 01, 2020.

    The National Assembly has approved the law of advance ruling that was proposed through Finance Bill, 2020.

    According to explanation issued by PWC A F Ferguson Chartered Accountants, the concept of advance ruling presently there in the Customs Act, has been revamped.

    Previously, the mechanism is relevant only in respect of classification for assessment of duties on goods intended to be imported/ exported.

    Through the Finance Act 2020 the meaning and scope of advance ruling has been enhanced to include the determination of classification, origin, the applicability of particular relief/ exemption on goods and any other matter as Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) may specify.

    A new section 212B has been inserted to Customs Act, 1969 which stated:

    “212B. Advance Ruling –

    (1) An applicant desirous of Advance Ruling may make an application in such form and in such manner as may be prescribed under the rules, stating any of the questions as contained in sub-section (3) hereinafter on which the Advance Ruling is sought.

    (2) The question on which advance ruling is sought shall be in respect of.-

    (i) Classification of goods under the First Schedule to this Act;

    (ii) Determination of origin of the goods under the rules of origin notified for bilateral and multilateral agreements;

    (iii) Applicability of notification issued in respect of duties under this Act or any tax or duty chargeable under any other law for the time being in force in the same manner as duty of customs leviable under this Act; or

    (iv) Any other matter as the board [FBR] may specify by notification in the official Gazette.

    (3) The proceedings for issuance of advance ruling shall be completed within 90 days.

    (4) The Ruling issued under sub-section (1) shall be binding on the applicant.

    (5) The Ruling issued under sub-section (1) shall be binding on the Customs for a period of one year unless there is a change in law or facts or circumstances on the basis of which the advance ruling was pronounced.

    (6) The appeal against the Ruling issued under sub-section (1) shall lie with the Member Customs (Policy) within 30 days of issuance of the Ruling;

    Provided that during the appeal period of 30 days, the operation of the Ruling shall remain suspended unless the applicant accepts the Ruling.”

  • PTA blocks Bigo, warns Tik Tok for vulgar content

    PTA blocks Bigo, warns Tik Tok for vulgar content

    ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on Monday blocked social media Bigo and issued final warning to Tik Tok on complaints of obscene and vulgar content.

    The PTA said that it had received number of complaints from different segment of the society against immoral, obscene and vulgar content on social media applications particularly Tik Tok and Bigo, and their extremely negative effects on the society in general and youth in particular.

    The PTA had issued necessary notices to the aforementioned social media companies under law to moderate the socialization and content within legal and moral limits, in accordance with the laws of the country. “However, the response of these companies has not been satisfactory,” the PTA added.

    “Therefore, in exercise of its powers under PECA, PTA has decided to immediately block Bigo and issue final warning to Tik Tok to put in place a comprehensive mechanism to control obscenity, vulgarity and immorality through its social media application.”

  • Stock market gains 320 points amid activities in cement, power sectors

    Stock market gains 320 points amid activities in cement, power sectors

    KARACHI: The stock market gained 320 points on Monday as activities were seen in cement and power sector, analysts said.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 37,651 points as against 37,331 points showing an increase of 320 points.

    Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the benchmark index made yet another recent time high with one of the highest volumes, all courtesy of cement and power sectors.

    Market opened on a positive note today with +158 points and gained a total of 410 points, closing the session +320 points. Last 10 days of the month has a scheduled meeting of SBP to decide monetary policy stance with an anticipation of further rate cut.

    Cement sector continued the momentum with highest volumes on the bourse, totaling 83.2 million shares, followed by Technology (68.2 million) and Engineering (48.4 million). Among scrips, HASCOL topped the volumes with 32.5 million shares, followed by TRG (27.5 million) and MLCF (23 million).

    Sectors contributing to the performance include Power (+72 points), Cement (+47 points), E&P (+27 points), Textile (+26 points) and Engineering (+24 points).

    Volumes increased from 466 million shares to 553.8 million shares (+19 percent DoD0. Average traded value also increased by 23 percent to reach US$ 116.0 million as against US$ 94.1 million.

    Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include HASCOL, TRG, MLCF, FCCL and LOTCHEM, which formed 22 percent of total volumes.

    Stocks that contributed positively to the index include HUBC (+56 points), FCCL (+24 points), TRG (+19 points), KAPCO (+15 points) and LUCK (+14 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include ENGRO (-12 points), PAKT (-11 points), UBL (-9 points), HMB (-8 points), and NESTLE (-7 points).

  • Rupee weakens by 97 paisas on import payment demand

    Rupee weakens by 97 paisas on import payment demand

    KARACHI: The Pak Rupee weakened by 97 paisas to the dollar on Monday owing to higher demand for import and corporate payments.

    The rupee ended Rs168.30 to the dollar from last Friday’s closing of 167.33 in interbank foreign exchange market.

    Currency experts said that the due to first working day of the week the demand for greenback was remained higher. They said that the due to global economic slowdown owing to coronavirus the inflows of worker remittances and exports receipts were also reduced.

    They, however, believed that the local currency may rebound in coming days owing to sufficient inflows.

    State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has said that the workers’ remittances rose by a significant 50.7 percent during June 2020 to reach monthly record high $2.46 billion compared with $1.63 billion in June 2019.

    Similarly, on a cumulative basis, workers’ remittances increased to a historic high level of $23.12 billion during FY20, witnessing a growth of 6.4 percent over $21.74 billion during FY19.

    According to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) the import bill of the country fell by 18.6 percent to $44.57 billion as compared with $54.76 billion in the preceding fiscal year.

    This helped the country to curtail the trade deficit for the year. The trade deficit of the country shrank by 27 percent to $23.18 billion during fiscal year 2019/2020 as compared with the deficit of $31.8 billion in the preceding fiscal year.

  • Mari Petroleum discovers gas in Sindh

    Mari Petroleum discovers gas in Sindh

    KARACHI: Mari Petroleum Company Limited (MPCL) on Monday announced discovery of gas from its exploratory well Hilal-1, drilled in Mari D&P Lease Area, located in Daharki, District Ghotki, Sindh.

    Hilal-1 was spud-in on April 21, 2020 and drilled down to the depth of 1,202m into Sui Main Limestone(SML).

    The well was drilled with the objective to test the hydrocarbon potentials of SML and Sui Upper Limestone (SUL).

    The Drill Stem Tests (DSTs) carried out in SUL Formation flowed gas at a rate of 11 MMSCFD at wellhead flow pressure (WHFP)of 887 Psi at 48/64 inch choke size after acid job.

    While DSTs carried out in SML Formation also successfully flowed 6.88 MMSCFD of gas with 132 barrels per day of water at WHFP of 804 Psi at 40/64 inch choke size subsequent to acid job.

    It is highlighted that this is the 5th consecutive new discovery in Mari D&P Lease Area based on 1,079 sq.km carpet 3D seismic survey of the area in 2015, which was followed by an extensive drilling program.

  • Pakistan’s oil, gas import bill plunges by 28 percent in FY20

    Pakistan’s oil, gas import bill plunges by 28 percent in FY20

    ISLAMABAD: Country’s import of oil and gas fell sharply by 28 percent during fiscal year 2019/2020 owing to significant decline in international prices.

    The import of petroleum group has decline to $10.42 billion during fiscal year 2019/2020 as compared with $14.44 billion in the preceding fiscal year, according to data released by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

    Industry sources explained that the slump had been observed in terms of value due to significant decline in international oil prices.

    During the year the international oil prices were remained lower due to conflict between Russia and Saudi Arabia.

    The Russia–Saudi Arabia oil price war of 2020 is an economic war triggered in March 2020 by Saudi Arabia in response to Russia’s refusal to reduce oil production in order to keep prices for oil at moderate level. This economic conflict resulted in a sheer drop of oil price over the spring of 2020.

    Reportedly, on March 08, 2020, Saudi Arabia initiated a price war with Russia, facilitating a 65 percent quarterly fall in the price of oil.

    Unofficial reports suggested that in the first few weeks of March, US oil prices fell by 34 percent, crude oil fell by 26 percent, and Brent oil fell by 24 percent.

    The price war was triggered by a break-up in dialogue between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia over proposed oil-production cuts in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Russia walked out of the agreement, leading to the fall of the OPEC+ alliance.

    Oil prices had already fallen 30 percent since the start of the year due to a drop in demand. The price war is one of the major causes and effects of the currently ongoing global stock-market crash.

    Pakistan’s import of retail petroleum products fell by 24.54 percent to $4.74 billion during fiscal year 2019/2020 as compared with $6.28 billion in the preceding fiscal year.

    The imported quantity of the retail petroleum products, however, increased by 3.7 percent during the year under review. The quantity increased to 10.8 million metric tons during fiscal year 2019/2020 as compared with 10.42 million metric tons in the preceding year.

    The import of petroleum crude even fell more sharply by 40.44 percent to $2.72 billion during fiscal year 2019/2020 as compared with $4.57 billion in the preceding fiscal year.

    The import of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) has declined by 20.21 percent to $2.66 billion during fiscal year 2019/2020 as compared with $3.33 billion in the preceding fiscal year.

    However, import of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) registered 17.63 percent growth to $294 million during fiscal year 2019/2020 as compared with $250 million in the preceding fiscal year.

  • Big retail units to be sealed till integration with FBR

    Big retail units to be sealed till integration with FBR

    ISLAMABAD: Big retail units shall be sealed till their integration with the online system of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for sharing sales and purchases.

    Sources in the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) said that the big retail units are required to integrate their outlets with the FBR under Sales Tax Act, 1990.

    However, those retailers who failed to integrate their outlets with the FBR would face punitive action as defined in the statute.

    The sources said that through Finance Act, 2020 amendment has been made related to penalty for non-compliance for linkage of sales and purchase data with the FBR.

    According to amendment made to Sales Tax Act, 1990, any person, who is required to integrate his business for monitoring, tracking, reporting or recording of sales, production and similar business transactions with the board or its computerized system, fails to get himself registered under the Act, and if registered, fails to integrate in the manner as required under law.

    “Such person shall be liable to pay a penalty up to one million rupees, and if continues to commit the same offence after a period of two months after imposition of penalty as aforesaid, his business premises shall be sealed till such time he integrates his business in the manner as stipulated under sub-section (9A) of Section 3 or Section 40C, as the case may be.”

    All tier-1 retailers are required to integrate all their POSs with FBR’s computerized system.

    Tier-1 retailer is defined in section 2(43A) of the Sales Tax Act, 1990, to be a person who falls in any of the following categories:

    (a) a retailer operating as a unit of a national or international chain of stores;

    (b) a retailer operating in an air-conditioned shopping mall, plaza or centre, excluding kiosks;

    (c) a retailer whose cumulative electricity bill during the immediately preceding twelve consecutive months exceeds Rupees twelve hundred thousand;

    (d) a wholesaler-cum-retailer, engaged in bulk import and supply of consumer goods on wholesale basis to the retailers as well as on retail basis to the general body of the consumers; and

    (e) a retailer, whose shop measures one thousand square feet in area or more.

    The FBR extended date for retailers to integrate their Point of Sale (POS) up to August 31, 2020.

    The last date for integrating the POS for Tier-1 retailers was previously June 30, 2020.

    The FBR said that only those retailers can integrate their POS by August 31 who submit their intention to RTOs/LTUs by August 20, 2020.

    FBR sources said that the decision had been taken due to lockdown in the many parts of the country in order to prevent spread of coronavirus the business activities had become stand still.

    The deadline was expired on December 15, 2019 which was given by the FBR to tier-1 retailers to integrate their POSs with the FBR online system. However, the date was extended in order to give opportunity to big retailers to make compliance.

  • Import of heavy electric vehicles allowed at 1 percent customs duty

    Import of heavy electric vehicles allowed at 1 percent customs duty

    ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has allowed import of heavy electric vehicles at one percent customs duty.

    Through Finance Act, 2020 the duty at one percent has been made part of Customs Act, 1969.

    According to the Finance Act, 2020 the imports of electric buses, electric trucks and electric prime movers have been allowed at one percent of customs duty and there is no condition attach to the imports.

    However, imports of other electric vehicles including auto rickshaw, 3-wheeler loader and motorcycle have been allowed reduced duty rate at 50 percent of the prevailing tariff rate of customs duty as specified in the First Schedule to the Customs Act, 1969.

    There are conditions attached to the imports of such motor vehicles. The FBR said that the concession shall be admissible for a period of five years with effect from July 01, 2020, on import of 10 electric vehicles (CBU – Completely Buildup Unit) of the same variant to the assembled / manufactured to the extent of maximum 200 units, to 2-3 wheeler segment, duly approved / certified by the Engineering Development Board (EDB).

    The EDB shall monitor compliance with the EV Policy 2020 and intimate FBR immediately in case of violation by any manufacturer to stop further clearance at the concessional rate.

  • Pakistan mulls opening tourism spots by mid-August

    Pakistan mulls opening tourism spots by mid-August

    ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is considering to open tourist spots across the country by mid of August provided that the COVID-19 situation was remained under control, said Special Assistant to Prime Minister of Pakistan Syed Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari.

    He, however, categorically announced that all tourist spots would be remain closed during Eid ul Azha holidays. He said decision to this effect has been made to prevent people from coronavirus as it was experienced during Eid ul Fitar.

    He stated this while talking to a delegation of Hotels, Guest Houses and Tourism Association at Islamabad on Friday July 17, 2020.

    He said that year 2021 will be considered as year of Tourism and all avenues of recreation would opened by reviewing COVID-19 favorable situation after Eid ul Azha.

    Central President Gulariz Khattak, Chairman Tahir Aurakzai, General Secretary Dr. Usman Qazi, Information secretary Asif Khan and Secretary Training Sulman Awan apprised about the issues and difficulties being faced by the Association Members.

    Zulfiqar Bukhari said that in accordance with the vision of Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan, Tourism would be promoted throughout the country and keeping on board all Provinces effective measures were being adopted to extend maximum facilitations to all stakeholders and as well as tourists.

    Responding the recommendations of delegation members, Zulfi Bukhari assured proper representation of Hotels, Guest Houses and Tourism Association in National Tourism Coordination Board and also assured for taking up the matter of issuing interest free loans to those whose business had been badly affected due to COVID-19.

    He also assured for renewing registration of guest houses as soon as possible to mitigate the suffering of guest houses owners. He said COVID-19 SOP’s and guidelines has been finalized in consultation with Provinces and only reply of Sindh Province is awaited and after completion of process necessary action would be taken for opening hotels and guest houses.

    Matters pertaining to promotion of tourism, regularization and streamlining the procedures also came under discussion.