Pkrevenue.com

Author: Mrs. Anjum Shahnawaz

  • Rupee gains three paisas against dollar on shrinking current account deficit

    Rupee gains three paisas against dollar on shrinking current account deficit

    KARACHI: The Pak Rupee gained three paisas on Thursday against dollar owing to shrinking current account deficit.

    The rupee ended Rs154.23 to the dollar from previous day’s closing of Rs154.26 in interbank foreign exchange market.

    Currency dealers said that market sentiments were high owing to narrowing current account deficit of the country.

    Pakistan’s current account deficit narrowed by 72 percent during first seven months (July – January) of 2019/2020 owing to inflows of workers’ remittances and decline in import bill.

    The current account deficit reduced to $2.65 billion during the first seven months of current fiscal year as compared with $9.48 billion in the corresponding months of the last fiscal year, according to Balance of Payment (BoP) data released by State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) a day earlier.

    The exchange rate in open market witnessed no change in rupee value. The buying and selling of dollar was recorded at Rs154.10/Rs154.40, the same previous day’s closing, in cash ready market.

  • Stock market ends down by 93 points on selling pressure

    Stock market ends down by 93 points on selling pressure

    KARACHI: The stock market fell by 93 points on Thursday owing to selling pressure during trading sessions. The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 40,481 points as against 40,575 points showing a decline of 93 points.

    Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market traded in a narrow range between +123 points as against -129 points and closed the session with -93 points.

    Although crude oil price went up in the international market, listed Oil and Gas chain did not respond to it and faced selling pressure.

    HBL dropped significantly over the day after news relating to its exposure in UAE broke whereby UAE Central Bank hinted probing the matter.

    Other than E&P, Refineries and OMCs one the downside, Cement and Steel sectors also went down. Cement sector led the volumes with 17 million shares, followed by Banks (15.3 million) and O&GMCs (10.5 million).

    Among scrips, HASCOL topped with 8.8 million shares, followed by BOP (8.7 million) and DGKC (8.1 million).

    Sectors contributing to the performance include E&P (-40 points), O&GMCs (-26 points), Cement (-25 points), Fertilizer (-19 points), Chemical (+17 points).

    Volumes dipped again from 142.9 million shares to 112 million shares (-22 percent DoD). Average traded value also declined by 28 percent to reach US$ 30.6 million as against US$ 42.2 million.

    Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include HASCOL, BOP, DGKC, UNITY and MLCF, which formed 35 percent of total volumes.

    Stocks that contributed positively include UBL (+34 points), COLG (+12 points), BAHL (+12 points), PKGS (+12 points) and IGIHL (+10 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include HBL (-45 points), OGDC (-17 points), MCB (-15 points), PPL (-13 points), and ENGRO (-12 points).

  • Meezan Bank’s Shariah Board approves guidelines for digital mobile accounts

    Meezan Bank’s Shariah Board approves guidelines for digital mobile accounts

    KARACHI: Meezan Bank’s Shariah Supervisory Board has approved guidelines for digital Mudarabah-based mobile account to support financial inclusion in Pakistan.

    Shariah Supervisory Board approved guidelines in its recently concluded, a statement said on Thursday.

    The meeting was chaired by Dr. Muhammad Imran Ashraf Usmani and attended by Sheikh Esam Mohamed Ishaq, Mufti Muhammad Naveed Alam, Ahmed Ali Siddiqui and other key officials.

    Irfan Siddiqui – President & CEO, Meezan Bank and Ariful Islam – Deputy CEO, Meezan Bank were also present in the meeting which was held at Movenpick Hotel, Karachi.

    The Shariah Supervisory Board showed its overall satisfaction on the Shariah-compliance environment and operations of the Bank.

    Several key issues were discussed in the meeting related to modern trends in Islamic banking. Guidelines for a digital mobile account – Meezan Asaan Mobile Account based on Mudarabah was approved under which a customer can open his digital mobile account at Meezan Bank without the hassle of visiting any physical branch.

    On maintaining balance in this account, the customer would be entitled to receive halal profit based on actual returns of Shariah-compliant financings on monthly basis.

    Furthermore, the customer can use this account to deposit and withdraw funds digitally or from any Meezan Bank branch all over Pakistan.

    The Shariah Supervisory Board also gave important guidelines related to housing finance facility to be offered by the Bank in collaboration with Pakistan Mortgage Refinance Company which is low cost housing finance solution for the lower and middle income families.

    Relevant guidelines related to Islamic Fintech solution for supply chain financing were also issued by the Shariah Supervisory Board to make Shariah-compliant financing solutions accessible to Small and Medium Enterprises in Pakistan.

    Earlier on the same day, a meeting between Shariah Supervisory Board and Board of Directors (BoDs) of Meezan Bank was also held as part of the annual meeting plan of the Shariah Supervisory Board and BoD.

    In this meeting Dr. Muhammad Imran Ashraf Usmani conducted a learning session for the Board and also apprised them regarding the key decisions taken by the Shariah Supervisory Board during the year 2019.

  • GlaxoSmithKline Pakistan appoints Erum Shakir as new CEO

    GlaxoSmithKline Pakistan appoints Erum Shakir as new CEO

    KARACHI: Aziz ul Huq, Chief Executive Officer of GlaxoSmithKline Pakistan Limited has resigned for personal reasons and the board of directors of the company appointed Ms. Erum Shakir Rahim as new CEO of the company from March 01, 2020.

    In a notice to Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday, the company said that Aziz ul Huq, CEO, GlaxoSmithKline Pakistan Limited had resigned to join his family in Australia.

    The board of directors has accepted his resignation with effect from March 01, 2020 and extended their best wishes to him in his future endeavors.

    “The board of directors has also appointed Ms. Erum Shakir Rahim, General Manager, GSK Indonesia Pharma Emerging Markets as new Chief Executive Officer of GlaxoSmithKline Pakistan Limited with effect from March 01, 2020.”

    The company said that Ms. Erum Shakir Rahim had a strong track record of success in multiple GM roles within GSK in Malaysia (Brunei), Bangladesh (Developing Countries Asia cluster) and Indonesia.

    In her role as GM Indonesia Erum led the team to transform the business and deliver strong top line growth 12 percent, OP growth of 25 percent, increase in market share, rank and EI of 106. With a high people engagement score of 87 percent.

    Before taking on general management roles outside Pakistan, Erum worked as director marketing Sales and Business Development GSK Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. Where she did multiple commercial and strategic roles of increasing responsibility across pharma, vaccines and consumers. These included roles in marketing, sales, comms, GA and business development.

    She contributed to GSK Pakistan’s market leading position in the country with 12 percent market share and eight GSK brands in the top 20 by launching 20 new assets across several therapy areas as well as leading critical business development initiatives. She is also on the board of directors in GSK Pakistan and Bangladesh in her previous roles.

  • Income tax return filing hits new peak of 2.8 million

    Income tax return filing hits new peak of 2.8 million

    ISLAMABAD: The income tax return filing of tax year 2018 has reached to a new peak at 2.8 million by February 16, 2020, according to latest Active Taxpayers List (ATL) issued by Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

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  • PSX recomposes KSE-30 index; includes Attock Refinery, International Steel

    PSX recomposes KSE-30 index; includes Attock Refinery, International Steel

    KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) has recomposed KSE-30 Index, which have high volume companies, and it will be implemented from March 13, 2020.

    A notification issued on Thursday said that the PSX carried out the exercise of re-composition of KSE-30 Index for the review period from July 01, 2019 to December 31, 2019.

    The recomposed KSE-30 Index will include Attock Refinery Limited and International Steel Limited. While The Bank of Punjab and Kot Addu Power Company Limited will be excluded in the new list.

    The re-composed index, based on the prices of December 31, 2019 will be implemented from Friday March 13, 2020.

    List of companies included in the KSE-30 Index on the basis of re-composition as on December 31, 2019:

    01. Attock Refiner Limited: ATRL

    02. Bank Al Habib Limited: BAHL

    03. Bank Alfalah Limited: BAFL

    04. D. G. Khan Cement Company Limited: DGKC

    05. Engro Corporation Limited: ENGRO

    06. Engro Fertilizers Limited: EFERT

    07. Engro Polymer & Chemical Limited: EPCL

    08. Fauji Cement Company Limited: FCCL

    09. Fauji Fertilizer Company Limited: FFC

    10. Habib Bank Limited: HBL

    11. International Steel Limited: ISL

    12. Lotte Chemical Limited: LOTCHEM

    13. Lucky Cement Limited: LUCK

    14. Maple Leaf Cement Factory Limited: MLCF

    15. Mari Petroleum Company Limited: MARI

    16. MCB Bank Limited: MCB

    17. Meezan Bank Limited: MEBL

    18. Millat Tractors Limited: MTL

    19. National Bank of Pakistan: NBP

    20. Nishat Mills Limited: NML

    21. Oil and Gas Development Company Limited: OGDC

    22. Pak Electron Limited: PAEL

    23. Pakistan Oilfields Limited: POL

    24. Pakistan Petroleum Limited: PPL

    25. Pakistan State Oil Company Limited: PSO

    26. Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited: SNGP

    27. The Searle Company Limited: SEARL

    28. The Hub Power Company Limited: HUBC

    29. TRG Pakistan Limited: TRG

    30. United Bank Limited: UBL

  • ECC allows import of controlled chemicals through commercial importers

    ECC allows import of controlled chemicals through commercial importers

    The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet, under the chairmanship of Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, has permitted the import of controlled chemicals through commercial importers. This decision, made on Wednesday, is aimed at easing the availability of essential chemicals for various industrial applications.

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  • Many fuel stations shut down after sudden demand, supply suspension rumors

    Many fuel stations shut down after sudden demand, supply suspension rumors

    Panic gripped Karachi on Wednesday evening as numerous fuel stations were forced to shut down following a surge in demand sparked by rumors of a fuel supply suspension.

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  • Tax authorities capture huge cash transactions of dress designers; start assessment

    Tax authorities capture huge cash transactions of dress designers; start assessment

    KARACHI: Tax authorities have captured millions of rupees cash transactions by many dress designers. The authorities are now making assessment on the basis of such transactions for imposing income tax for past five years, sources said on Wednesday.

    The sources said that the tax authorities had captured the cash transactions while disguising themselves as customers during their visits to those places where mostly wedding dresses were being displayed for sale.

    Regional Tax Office (RTO) II, Karachi, a revenue collecting arm of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), identified such dress designers, who were evading income tax. The office issued notices to explain the reasons of very low amount of tax payment or no payment of tax at all.

    The tax office during survey found that there was a sector of marriage dress designers, who charge exorbitant amount for the bridal dress making.

    Some of the designer even charge millions for a single dress but when their income tax returns were analyzed it was found that quite a large number of these dress designers are paying very meager amount of tax i.e. their declared income does not commensurate with their receipts.

    Some of them are even not on tax roll.

    The RTO-II Karachi identified the following dress designers:

    01. Shehrnaz

    02. Nada Tai

    03. Aisha Ahmed

    04. Wardha Saleem

    05. Sanam Chaudhri

    06. Sania Maskatiya

    07. Cartes by Pasho

    08. Silhouettes by Ash & Uzma

    09. Nida Azwer

    10. Waqar J. Khan

    11. Kavalier Laser Cut Innovations

    12. Rozina Munib

    13. Ayesha Sarfaraz

    14. Farida Qureshi

    15. Saleha

    16. Mahin

    17. Natasha Kamal

    18. Basic

    19. Sarah Arshad Gilani

    20. Amna Chaudhry

    21. Chikankari

    22. House of Farah V

    23. Sable Vogue

    24. Zuri by Zainab Fawad

    The sources said that the returns of above were being analyzed and desk audit was being conducted.
    The information obtained about their income would be cross matched with declared income and wealth statement filed and withholding statement filed by withholding agents.

    The tax office estimated huge loss of revenue would be detected.

    Notices under section 176 of Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 have been issued and further progress would be finalized by February 27, 2020.

  • Finance ministry may resolve taxation issues of automotive industry

    Finance ministry may resolve taxation issues of automotive industry

    KARACHI: A standing committee of the National Assembly has assured that finance ministry to convene an exclusive meeting for resolving taxation issues of automotive industry.

    The National Assembly standing committee paid its visit to Pak Suzuki Motors under the chairmanship of Sajid Hussain Turi on Wednesday.

    The Committee informed that an exclusive meeting may be convened with FBR, and Ministry of Finance to resolve the problems of Additional Customs Duty, Federal Excise Duty, Additional Sales Tax, shortly.

    During the visit the management of Pak Suzuki Motors welcomed the Members and senior officers of GOP, at Suzuki Head office.

    The committee witnessed the manufacturing of different vehicles in the plant under the supervision of well experienced team of Pakistani and Japanese Suzuki engineers and workers.

    The committee members expressed their well wishes for the Improvement of Pak Suzuki plant which was established in 1992, after visiting the plant.

    The Managing Director, Pak Suzuki Motors, Pakistan warmly welcomed the Committee. Shafiq Shaikh, head of Public Relations and official spokesperson briefed the Committee about the historical background of the institution.

    He appraised the Committee with regard to different Cars launched by Suzuki Motors time to time in Pakistan, including some imported vehicles and newly introduced cars.

    The Managing Director, responded the questions raised by the Members regarding quality of products as compared to imported vehicles, the Committee expressed its satisfaction in this regard.

    Shafiq Shaikh explained the causes of increase in prices. He said high mark up rates of Banks loans, over burden of taxation, several additional duties, rupee devaluation, increase in fixed costs / utilities, high trend of inflation and non implementation on Automotive Development Policy(ADP) 2016-21 were the major reason of low production in the automotive sector, which also caused the price fluctuation in the market. Additional Secretary, Ministry of Industries informed that taxation matters were taken up earlier with Ministry of Finance and Revenue but they didn’t respond properly in that regard in last financial year.

    The Committee appreciated the role of Pak Suzuki Motors , Management and appreciated Harano, MD and Shaikh for providing the good quality/ standards products in Pakistan and launching of new models of cars and Motorbikes.

    Several members along with senior officials from ministry of industries, EDB and PSM attended the meeting.