Pkrevenue.com

Author: Mrs. Anjum Shahnawaz

  • SBP enhances refinancing limits for hospitals

    SBP enhances refinancing limits for hospitals

    KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday increased the refinancing limits for hospitals and medical centers in the background of rising cases of COVID-19 in the country and with the need to strengthen health sector in fight against COVID-19.

    The central bank enhanced financing limit of a single hospital/ medical center under its Refinance Facility for Combating COVID -19 (RFCC) from Rs. 200 million to Rs. 500 million.

    RFCC is an emergency funding facility to support hospitals/medical centers to develop their capacities for treatment of infected patients of COVID-19.

    The financing under this facility is being made available by State Bank at zero percent to banks that can charge a maximum rate of 3 percent per annum to hospitals/medical centers.

    State Bank has been continuously improving features of this Facility to ensure timely financial support to hospitals/medical centers engaged in combating COVID-19.

    So far, financing of Rs. 2.2 billion for 11 hospitals/medical centers has been approved whereas financing requests of Rs 3.6 billion for 23 hospitals/medical centers are being processed by the banks.

    With today’s enhancement of financing limit, it is expected that large scale facilities will be created for treating COVID-19 patients by using subsidized funding being extended under this facility.

  • FBR collection falls by 13.4 percent in April

    FBR collection falls by 13.4 percent in April

    ISLAMABAD: The revenue collection has registered 13.4 percent decline in April 2020 over the corresponding month of the last year, due to ongoing lockdown to contain spread of coronavirus.

    According to provisional statistics of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), the collection of duty and taxes fell to Rs256.68 billion in April 2020 as compared with Rs296.58 billion in the corresponding month last year.

    The FBR issued refunds in April 2020 to the tune of Rs 15.12 billion, which is 127 percent higher when compared with Rs6.66 billion in the corresponding month last year.

    Moreover, the Rs16 billion as refunds have been issued to exporters, Rs33 billion as arrear refunds and Rs15 billion as duty drawback in April 2020.

    The total collection of the FBR during first ten months (July – April) 2019/2020 increased to Rs3,408.83 billion showing an increase of 10.4 percent compared with the Rs3047.95 billion collected during the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.

    The refunds of Rs116.961 billion have been issued during first ten month of current fiscal year, which was Rs6.515 billion during July – April 2019/2020.

    The FBR has collected the target revenue of Rs200 billion for April 2020 and collected Rs256 billion out of revised annual revenue target of Rs3908 billion for the current Financial Year.

  • FBR extends sales tax return filing date up to May 15

    FBR extends sales tax return filing date up to May 15

    ISLAMABAD: Federal board of Revenue (FBR) on Thursday announced relief in sales tax return filing of last three months due to outbreak of coronavirus and lockdown in the country.

    The FBR issued a notification allowing taxpayers to make payment of sales tax and federal excise duty up to May 12, 2020 for the months January, February and March 2020.

    Further, the taxpayers have been allowed to file sales tax and federal excise monthly returns up to May 15, 2020 for the months January, February and March 2020.

    The FBR has been extending the date in order to facilitate the taxpayers to discharge their liabilities. However, cases of coronavirus were reported in February and subsequently lockdown was imposed in March, which resulted in halt of business activities.

  • FBR extends date to submit stock position up to May 15 for claiming refunds

    FBR extends date to submit stock position up to May 15 for claiming refunds

    ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Thursday allowed taxpayers to submit their stock position for the period July– November 2019 up to May 15, 2020 in order to claim sales tax refunds under newly only verification and issuance system.

    In an official memorandum issued, the FBR extended the time limit for filing of Annexure – H for the tax period July – November 2019 up to May 15, 2020.

    Annexure-H is a statement for providing stock position by taxpayers along with monthly sales tax return.

    The FBR from July 01, 2019 introduced expeditious payment of sales tax refunds within 72 hours subject to the true filing of Annexure – H.

    As per the Rules, refund will be treated as having been filed only after filing of Annexure H of the Sales Tax return, for which deadline of 120 days has been prescribed in the Rules and the same can be extended for a period of 60 days on the basis of approval from the Commissioner.

  • Prices of petroleum products slashed up to 39 percent

    Prices of petroleum products slashed up to 39 percent

    ISLAMABAD: The government on Thursday announced a significant reduction in the prices of petroleum products, with cuts reaching up to 39 percent. This move aims to pass on the benefits of the massive decline in international oil prices to the public.

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  • FBR notifies transfers of 11 senior customs officers of BS-20-21

    FBR notifies transfers of 11 senior customs officers of BS-20-21

    ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Thursday announced transfers of senior customs officers of BS-20 and BS-21 with immediate effect and until further orders.

    Following officers of Pakistan Customs Service (PCS) have been transferred:

    01. Muhammad Zahid (Pakistan Customs Service/BS-21) has been transferred and posted as Director General, Directorate General of Transit Trade, Karachi from the post of Director General, Directorate General of Intelligence & Investigation, FBR, Islamabad.

    02. Abdul Rashid Sheikh (Pakistan Customs Service/BS-21) has been transferred and posted as Director General, Directorate General of Intelligence & Investigation, FBR, Islamabad from the post of Director General, Directorate General of Post Clearance Audit & Internal Audit, Karachi.

    03. Sarfraz Ahmad Warraich (Pakistan Customs Service/BS-21) has been transferred and posted as Member, Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad from the post of Director General, Directorate General of Transit Trade, Karachi.

    04. Ms. Zeba Hai Azhar (Pakistan Customs Service/BS-21) has been transferred and posted as Director General, Directorate General of Training & Research (Customs), Karachi from the post of Chief Collector, Customs Enforcement (Central), Lahore.

    05. Wasif Ali Memon (Pakistan Customs Service/BS-21) has been transferred and posted as Director General, Directorate General of Post Clearance Audit & Internal Audit, Karachi from the post of Chief Collector, Customs Enforcement (South), Karachi. The officer is also assigned the additional charge of the post of Director General, Risk Management, Karachi till the posting of a regular incumbent.

    06. Abdul Basit Chaudhry (Pakistan Customs Service/BS-21) has been transferred and posted as Member, Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad from the post of Director General, Directorate General of Input Output Coefficient Organization, Karachi.

    07. Dr. Zulfikar Ali Chaudhary (Pakistan Customs Service/BS-21) has been transferred and posted as Director General, Directorate General of Customs Valuation, Karachi from the post of Chief Collector, Customs, Balochistan, Quetta.

    08. Faiz Ahmad (Pakistan Customs Service/BS-21) has been transferred and posted as Chief Collector Customs Enforcement (Central), Lahore from the post of Director General, Directorate General of Training & Research (Customs), Karachi.

    09. Dr. Saifuddin Junejo (Pakistan Customs Service/BS-21) has been transferred and posted as Chief Collector, Customs Enforcement (South), Karachi from the post of Collector, Model Customs Collectorate of Exports (Port Muhammad Bin Qasim), Karachi.

    10. Dr Samina Taslim Zehra (Pakistan Customs Service/BS-21) has been transferred and posted as Director General, Directorate General of Input Output Coefficient Organization, Karachi from the post of Director, Directorate of Input Output Coefficient Organization (South), Karachi.

    11. Muhammad Aamer (Pakistan Customs Service/BS-20) has been transferred and posted as Chief Collector (OPS), Customs, Balochistan, Quetta has been transferred and posted as Chief, Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad.

    The FBR said that the Officers who are drawing performance allowance prior to issuance of this notification shall continue to draw this allowance on the new place of posting.

  • FBR transfers 17 senior IRS officers of BS-20-21

    FBR transfers 17 senior IRS officers of BS-20-21

    ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Thursday transferred and posted 17 officers of BS-20 and BS-21 of Inland Revenue Service (IRS) with immediate effect until further orders.

    Following officers have been transferred and posted:

    01. Dr. Ashfaq Ahmad Tunio (Inland Revenue Service/BS-21) has been transferred and posted as Chief Commissioner Inland Revenue Large Taxpayers Unit, Lahore from the post of Member, Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad.

    02. Ms. Seema Shakil (Inland Revenue Service/BS-21) has been transferred and posted as Member, Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad (Stationed at Karachi) from the post of Member, (IR-Operations) Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad.

    03. Dr. Faiz Illahi Memon (Inland Revenue Service/BS-21) has been transferred and posted as Member, (Admn) Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad from the post of Chief Commissioner, Large Taxpayers Unit, Karachi.

    04. Syed Nadeem Hussain Rizvi (Inland Revenue Service/BS-21) has been transferred and posted as Member, (IR-Operations) Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad from the post of Member, (TPA) Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad.

    05. Asim Majid Khan (Inland Revenue Service/BS-21) has been transferred and posted as Director General, (Retail) Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad from the post of Chief Commissioner, Large Taxpayers Unit, Lahore. The officer is also assigned the additional charge of the post of Director General (WHT), FBR (HQ), Islamabad till the posting of a regular incumbent.

    06. Dr. Lubna Ayub (Inland Revenue Service/BS-21) has been transferred and posted as Member, Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad (Stationed at Karachi) from the post of Chief Commissioner, Regional Tax Office, Hyderabad.

    07. Abdul Hameed Memon (Inland Revenue Service/BS-21) has been transferred and posted as Chief Commissioner Inland Revenue Large Taxpayers Unit-II, Karachi from the post of Director General, (Retail) Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad.

    08. Sajidullah Siddiqui (Inland Revenue Service/BS-21) has been transferred and posted as Chief Commissioner Inland Revenue Corporate Regional Tax Office, Karachi from the post of Commissioner, Inland Revenue (Appeals-II), Karachi.

    09. Badruddin Ahmad Quraishi (Inland Revenue Service/BS-21) has been transferred and posted as Chief Commissioner Inland Revenue Large Taxpayers Unit, Karachi from the post of Chief Commissioner, Regional Tax Office II, Karachi.

    10. Bakhtiar Muhammad (Inland Revenue Service/BS-21) has been transferred and posted as Member, (FATE) Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad from the post of Member , Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad with additional charge of Chief (IR-Operations-I), FBR (HQ), Islamabad.

    11. Mohammad Qasim Samad Khan (Inland Revenue Service/BS-21) has been transferred and posted as Member, (TPA) Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad from the post of Member, Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad.

    12. Ms. Ambreen Iftikhar (Inland Revenue Service/BS-21) has been transferred and posted as Member, (HRM) Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad from the post of Member, Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad. The officer shall assume charge after superannuation of Mian Saeed Iqbal (IRS/BS-22) w.e.f 12.05.2020.

    13. Dr. Aftab Imam (Inland Revenue Service/BS-21) has been transferred and posted as Chief Commissioner Inland Revenue Regional Tax Office, Quetta from the post of Chief Commissioner, Corporate Regional Tax Office, Karachi.

    14. Dr. Tauqeer Ahmad Memon (Inland Revenue Service/BS-21) has been transferred and posted as Chief Commissioner Inland Revenue Regional Tax Office, Hyderabad from the post of Chief Commissioner, Regional Tax Office, Sukkur.

    15. Shahid Iqbal Baloch (Inland Revenue Service/BS-21) has been transferred and posted as Member, Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad (Stationed at Karachi) from the post of Chief Commissioner-IR, Large Taxpayers Unit-II, Karachi.

    16. Syed Syedain Raza Zaidi (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) has been transferred and posted as Chief Commissioner Inland Revenue (OPS) Regional Tax Office II, Karachi from the post of Commissioner, Inland Revenue (Appeals-III), Karachi.

    17. Mohammad Farooq Azam Memon (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) has been transferred and posted as Chief Commissioner Inland Revenue Regional Tax Office, Sukkur from the post of Commissioner, Inland Revenue (Appeals), Hyderabad.

    The Officers who are drawing performance allowance prior to issuance of this notification shall continue to draw this allowance on the new place of posting.

    All above listed officers are requested to Relinquish/Assume charge, using online HRMS facility made available to FBR or by using their IJP logins.

  • Share market climbs up by 953 points on rate cut hopes

    Share market climbs up by 953 points on rate cut hopes

    KARACHI: The share market made sharp gain of 953 points on Thursday owing to expected rate cut and reports of ease in lockdown.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 34,112 points as against 33,159 points showing an increase of 953 points.

    Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that just before the long weekend, the market went north today with a jump of 1020 points during the session, closing +953 points, courtesy of rising crude oil prices, expectation of rate cut and relaxation in lockdown.

    Activity was observed across the board, with major contribution from oil and gas stocks i.e. E&P, OMCs, with OGDC, PPL and POL hitting upper circuits and realizing high volume trades at that level.

    Banking sector stocks remained relatively muted, whereas Cement, Fertilizer and Steel sectors made considerable stride forward.

    Cement sector topped the chart with 53.6 million shares, followed by O&GMCs (45 million) and Cable (28.1 million).

    Among scrips, HASCOL ranked first with 37.6 million shares, followed by PAEL (26.9 million) and MLCF (25.8 million).

    Sectors contributing to the performance include E&P (+308 points), Banks (+137 points), Power (+94 points), Fertilizer (+87 points) and O&GMCs (+84 points).

    Volumes increased from 140.5 million shares to 291.5 million shares (+107 percent DoD). Average traded value also increased by 61 percent to reach US$ 76.7 million as against US$ 47.6 million.

    Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include HASCOL, PAEL, MLCF, PPL and UNITY, which formed 42 percent of total volumes.

    Stocks that contributed positively to the index include OGDC (+105 points), PPL (+93 points), HUBC (+82 points), POL (+64 points) and MCB (+50 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include PAKT (-12 points), DAWH (-11 points), PSEL (-9 points), SYS (-3 points), and PMPK (-2 points).

  • Rupee makes significant gain of Rs1.44 against dollar

    Rupee makes significant gain of Rs1.44 against dollar

    KARACHI: The Pak Rupee gained Rs1.44 against dollar on Thursday owing to lower demand for import payments, dealers said.

    The rupee ended Rs160.17 to the dollar from previous day’s closing of Rs161.61 in interbank foreign exchange market.

    The currency dealers said that the rupee was gaining over lower oil prices and reduced non-oil imports.

    Currency experts said that the statement of Dr. Hafeez Shaikh, Special Advisor to Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue, about further reducing the oil prices for next month had also improved the market sentiments.

    They said that local currency would gain in coming trading days due to fall in international oil prices and improved external accounts.

    They said that that improved foreign direct investment and shrinking current account deficit helped the local currency to make gain.

    The inflow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into Pakistan has witnessed sharp growth of 137 percent during first nine months (July – March) 2019-2020.

    The FDI increased to $2.15 billion during first nine months of current fiscal year as compared with $905 million in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.

    Current account deficit (CAD) has contracted by 73 percent during first nine months (July – March) 2019/2020 due to significant decline in import bill.

    The current account deficit fell to $2.77 billion during first nine months of current fiscal year as compared with $10.28 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.

  • PIA gets permission for direct US flight operation

    PIA gets permission for direct US flight operation

    KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has been allowed to conduct direct flight operation and airlift Pakistani nationals from the United State of America (USA).

    The US Department of Transportation on Thursday issued special authorization to permit up to twelve round-trip or one-way planeload charter flights, carrying passengers and cargo, between a point or points outside the US and a point or points in the US.

    The sources said that CEO PIA Arshad Malik formally requested the US authorities a week ago for the airlift of Pakistani passengers in the wake of COVID-19.

    They said that it would be first time the PIA conducts direct US flight operation.

    Due to restriction of direct US flights, the PIA planes have to get permission and clearance from EU countries.