Pkrevenue.com

Author: Mrs. Anjum Shahnawaz

  • SBP develops regulatory framework for cross border e-commerce

    SBP develops regulatory framework for cross border e-commerce

    ISLAMABAD: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has developed regulatory framework for facilitation of cross border B2C e-commerce.

    However, this will be adopted after integration with the e-Commerce to be developed by Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) in WeBOC (Web Based One Customs).

    The officials of SBP shared this information at the second meeting of National e-Commerce Council, chaired by Abdul Razak Dawood, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment on Thursday.

    All of the nominated members of the Council, including State Bank of Pakistan, Ministry of IT & Telecom, Federal Board of Revenue, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, National Information Technology Board, Provincial Departments of Industries and Commerce, Provincial Revenue Authorities, Pakistan Post, Federal and Provincial Consumer Rights Commission/Councils, Telecom companies, online marketplaces, Fintech sector representatives, Freelancers, Banking sector and Logistics companies attended the meeting.

    The Advisor briefed the participants about the progress achieved in the past months on the e-Commerce Policy, since its approval on October 01, 2019.

    He appreciated the coordinated efforts of public and private sector for the effective implementation of the policy.

    Talking to the participants, Razak Dawood underlined that the trend of e-commerce has increased rapidly in the recent years with the development and easy accessibility of the internet.

    He added that, due to the covid-19 pandemic, the importance of e-Commerce has increased manifolds, making it an extremely vital sector for the economy.

    He stressed the importance of directing the resources towards digital adoption and connecting the SMEs to e-platforms across the globe, while exploring new market access opportunities for them.

    Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Revenue Authorities apprised the participants of the incentives being announced for Digital and e-Commerce sector in the provincial budgets to support these sectors during these challenging circumstances.

    Representatives from Consumer Protection Councils of Punjab and Lahore and from Consumer Rights Commission of Pakistan informed that, in line with the directions of the e-Commerce Policy, Federal and Provincial Consumer Acts are being amended to include the subject of e-Commerce and the disputes arising from this sector.

    They added that webinars are being planned to educate academia and train the judicial officers on the subject of consumer protection.

    SECP shared with the participants that several new initiatives are being planned to promote e-Commerce, including introduction of a separate sectoral classification of e-Commerce.

     So far 152 businesses have registered on their portal, which has reduced the time of a company registration to 4 hours.

    Secretary Commerce told the participants that Ministry of Commerce is continuously engaged with its foreign trade missions for promoting Pakistani trade and exploring new markets for its exporters.

    In this regard, a new development is registration of Pakistani sellers with Amazon. Initially, a list of 38 exporters has been communicated to Amazon, which is limited to Surgical & Sports Goods and Home Textiles Sectors but will be expanded to other sectors in near future, after a successful trial of these shortlisted companies.

    A video message from the Director General-WTO, appreciating Pakistan’s e-Commerce Policy being a step in the right direction, was also shared with the participants.

  • FBR urged to extend date for tax amnesty payment

    FBR urged to extend date for tax amnesty payment

    KARACHI: Karachi Tax Bar Association (KTBA) has urged Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to extend the date for making payment for amnesty scheme declarants.

    The KTBA in a letter to FBR chairperson on Thursday pointed out that the due date of payment of tax under section 6 of the Assets Declaration Ordinance, 2019 (“ADO, 2019”), which in terms of section 6 of the ADO was June 30, 2019.

    A declarant was also provided with an option to pay the tax on deferred payment basis in installment till the date of June 2020.

    This late payment, however, had to be made along with default surcharge at the rates given in Clause (2) of the Schedule to the ADO, 2019.

    The KTBA said that the maximum rate of default surcharge is 40 percent which would apply if the tax payment is made by 30 June 2020.

    The ongoing circumstances in the wake of current pandemic of COVID-19 which, undisputedly, has affected the life and business of every individual, adversely and taxpayers are no exception.

    The fall out of the cessation of business activities in the last three (03) months due to intermittent lockdown orders has effected every ones’ taxpaying capacity as well.

    “It has become quite difficult for the taxpayers to make the payment of tax as per the proviso discussed above, by 30 June 2020,” the KTBA said.

    In this connection, on behalf of our members, we would suggest that the following may be considered:

    1. the due date of payment of tax may be extended up to 31 December 2020 without increasing the rate of default surcharge further

    AND

    2. allow adjustment from tax refund, if any, available to the taxpayer, against the aforesaid payment.

    The measures will not only repose confidence to the taxpayers but will also show the resolve of the FBR to address a genuine issue.

  • FBR notifies promotion of 49 IRS officers to BS-19

    FBR notifies promotion of 49 IRS officers to BS-19

    ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Thursday notified promotion of 49 officers of Inland Revenue Service (IRS) to BS-19 with immediate effect.

    The FBR notified promotion of 41 officers from BS-18 to BS-19 on regular basis and other eight officers have been promoted from BS-18 to BS-19 on acting charge basis.

    The following BS-18 officers of Inland Revenue Service are promoted to BS-19 on regular basis with immediate effect :

    1. Muhammad Asfandyar Janjua

    2. Naveed Khan

    3. Syed Salahuddin Gillani

    4. Azhar Jehangir

    5. Muhammad Aamir Ilyas

    6. Qadir Nawaz

    7. Ms. Sadia Akmal

    8. Ms. Sadia Ali Akram

    9. Muhammad Ali Khan

    10. Ms. Amra Sarwar

    11. Ms. Arooj Mehwish Rizvi

    12. Asad Aziz

    13. Ms. Saba Rehmat

    14. Ms. Neelam Ifzal

    15. Karim Baksh Bughio

    16. Mrs. Saima Kenan Khan

    17. Husnain Ahmad Hali

    18. Kashif Hafeez

    19. Inayat Malik

    20. Akhtar Abbas

    21. Jamil Ahmad

    22. Muhammad Masood Ahmed Gorsi

    23. Kamran Ullah

    24. Laiq Zaman

    25. Naseebullah

    26. Naseer Ahmed

    27. Mrs. Safia Naseer

    28. Muhammad Sajid Ahmad

    29. Zubair Khan

    30. Ms. Sadia Iftikhar

    31. Tarique Aziz

    32. Rashid Javaid Rana

    33. Nasir Khan

    34. Muhammad Farooq Anwar

    35. Khawar Siddique

    36. Syed Zubair Shah

    37. Abdul Rauf

    38. Tariq Javed

    39. Tauqeer Ahmed Sujra

    40. Ms. Amina Batool

    41. Ms. Kiran Maqsood

    The FBR said that the officers at Sr. Nos. 07, 14, 24 and 32 will actualize their promotion from the date of their return from deputation and joining FBR (Hq), Islamabad.

    The officer at Sr. No. 08 is promoted subject to completion of satisfactory PERs, without any adverse entry/remarks, for the period 01.07.2018 to 30.06.2019. The officer at Sr. No. 19 is promoted subject to completion of satisfactory PERs, without any adverse entry/remarks, for the period 01.07.2018 to 31.03.2019.

    The officer at Sr. No. 25 is promoted subject to completion of satisfactory PERs, without any adverse entry/remarks, for the period 28.03.2019 to 30.06.2019 and will actualize his promotion from the date of his return from deputation and joining FBR (Hq), Islamabad.

    The officers already working in BS-19 on acting charge basis or on OPS basis as Additional Commissioner / Additional Director / Secretary FBR (HQ), Islamabad shall actualize promotion at their present place of posting. For actualization of promotion in BS-19 on regular basis of the remaining officers, transfer / posting order shall be notified separately and they shall actualize accordingly.

    Following BS-18 officers of Inland Revenue Service are appointed in BS-19 on acting charge basis with immediate effect:-

    1. Mrs. Sabah Fahad

    2. Zeeshan Asif

    3. Ms. Saba Ijaz

    4. Syed Mashkoor Ali

    5. Shahzad Ali Khan

    6. Muhammad Imran

    7. Soban Ahmad

    8. Ms. Hira Nazir

  • FBR promotes 14 customs officers to BS-19

    FBR promotes 14 customs officers to BS-19

    ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Thursday announced promotion of 14 officers of Pakistan Customs Service (PCS) from BS-18 to the post of Additional Collectors BS-19 on regular basis with immediate effect.

    Following officers have been promoted to BS-19:

    1. Ali Raza Turabi

    2. Dr. Imran Rasool Khan

    3. Muhammad Hassan Farid

    4. Ghulam Hyder Mahesar

    5. Muhammad Nauman Tashfeen

    6. Moeen Afzal Ali

    7. Junaid Usman Akram

    8. Rana Irfan Shaukat

    9. Saad Ata Rabbani

    10. Wajid Zaman

    11. Zakir Muhammad

    12. Ihsanullah Shah

    13. Ammara Durrani

    14. Muhammad Qasim Khokhar

    The FBR said that the officers who are already working in BS-19 on OPS basis will actualize their promotion against these posts.

    Posting / Transfer of the remaining officers will be notified separately, and they shall actualize accordingly.

    The officers who were drawing performance allowance prior to issuance of this notification shall continue to draw this allowance on their promotion.

  • Foreign exchange reserves up by $70 million

    Foreign exchange reserves up by $70 million

    KARACHI: The foreign exchange reserves of the country have increased by $70 million to $16.775 billion by week ended June 12, 2020, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Thursday.

    The foreign exchange reserves were at $16.705 billion by week ended on June 05, 2020.

    The foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank increased by $11 million to $10.107 billion by week ended June 12, 2020 as compared with $10.096 billion a week ago.

    The foreign exchange reserves held by commercial banks were also increased by $59 million to $6.668 billion from $6.609 billion a week ago.

  • Stocks plummet by 309 points on lockdown, political uncertainty

    Stocks plummet by 309 points on lockdown, political uncertainty

    KARACHI: The stock market fell by 309 points on Thursday due to political uncertainty and imposition of smart lockdown in various parts of the country.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 33,539 points as against 33,848 points showing a decline of 309 points.

    Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market shed 377 points again during the session and closed -309 points. Political uncertainty amid emergency lockdown in different parts of the country caused investors to rethink decisions.

    In addition, rupee parity also dropped to 166.35 that showed US$ as a preferred store of value for investors as against equities.

    Vanaspati sector continued leading the volumes on the bourse, which is primarily driven by UNITY. A total of 23.9 million shares of UNITY traded today.

    Technology sector followed Vanaspati in terms of traded volumes with 22.9 million shares, trailed by Banks (22.2 million). Among scrips, MDTL and BOP followed UNITY with 9.9 million and 8.3 million shares respectively.

    Sectors contributing to the performance include Banks (-86 points), Fertilizer (-59 points), Power (-49 points), E&P (-36 points) and OMC’s (-24 points).

    Volumes dropped from 340.8 million shares to 216.2 million shares (-37 percent DoD). Average traded value also declined by 36 percent to reach US$ 38.9 million as against US$ 61 million.

    Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include UNITY, MDTL, BOP, JSCL and HASCOL, which formed 26 percent of total volumes.

    Stocks that contributed positively to the index include DAWH (+18 points), HBL (+14 points), AGP (+6 points), GLAXO (+5 points) and FML (+3 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include BAHL (-45 points), HUBC (-44 points), FFC (-21 points), UBL (-18 points), and PPL (-16 points).

  • Dollar rises to Rs166.35 on higher import, corporate payments

    Dollar rises to Rs166.35 on higher import, corporate payments

    KARACHI: The Pak Rupee depreciated by further 64 paisas to the dollar on Wednesday owing to higher demand of the foreign currency for import and corporate payments.

    The rupee ended at Rs166.35 to the dollar from previous day’s closing of Rs165.71 in interbank foreign exchange market.

    Currency dealers said that the market witnessed demand for the foreign currency from importers and corporate buyers.

    They said that the market was also under pressure due to fall in foreign exchange reserves due repayment of external loans.

    The currency experts said that due to close of financial year many foreign companies were remitting their profits.

  • Reduction in rental income expense limit to encourage under-reporting

    Reduction in rental income expense limit to encourage under-reporting

    Presently, expenses incurred to the extent of 6 percent of rent chargeable wholly and exclusively for deriving rent are admissible as deduction against rental income.

    The Bill proposed to reduce the limit from 6 percent to 2 percent.

    The experts said that further reducing such limit would deprive a taxpayer for claiming a legitimate expense incurred solely for deriving taxable income and would ultimately lead to higher tax payable by the taxpayer. “It may encourage taxpayers to under-report their taxable income on the grounds that their legitimate expenses are disallowed,” experts at Deloitte Yousuf Adil Chartered Accountants said.

    Presently, income from property derived by an individual or an Association of Persons is subject to tax at the specified slab rates and treated as a separate block of income.

    However, individuals or AOPs whose income from property exceeds Rs 4 million per annum can opt to claim deductions under section 15A of the Ordinance and pay tax at normal rates specified in Division I of Part I of the First Schedule.

    The Bill proposed to abolish such limit of Rs. 4 million and therefore an individual or AOP can now opt for claiming tax deductions and pay tax at normal rates irrespective of amount of income derived from property.

  • PRA empowered to arrest tax defaulters, imprison for six months

    PRA empowered to arrest tax defaulters, imprison for six months

    LAHORE: Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) has been empowered to arrest defaulters and imprison for six months for making recovery of outstanding tax.

    The Punjab Finance Bill, 2020 has proposed to empower PRA in certain provisions of Punjab Sales Tax Act, 2012 for making recovery of outstanding tax.

    According to interpretation of Punjab Finance Bill, 2020 by PwC A. F. Ferguson, the bill proposes to empower tax authorities whereby they may also require a financial institution or banking company to make payment of tax due from a registered person out of running and demand finance extended to the registered person.

    By way of insertion of clause (g) to section 70 of the Act, it also empowers the department to arrest a defaulter and imprison him for not more than six months where a tax demand has been upheld by the Appellate Tribunal.

    No action is presently taken where a person deposits at least 25 percent of the tax demand during pendency of an appeal. It is proposed to reduce this limit to 10 percent of the tax demand. This is a positive amendment.

    The amendments relating to administrative and procedural matters are summarized as under:

    — The power of the PRA to de-register a person is proposed to be devolved to the Commissioner.

    — The PRA is being authorized to specify format of invoices to be issued by a registered person or class of registered persons and to prescribe a procedure for authentication of such invoices.

    — The PRA or authorized officer may require any registered person or class of registered persons to issue invoices electronically and transmit such invoices to PRA in the prescribed manner.

    — To streamline audit proceedings, it is proposed to empower officers to conduct audit proceedings electronically through video links or any other facility as may be notified by PRA.

    — It is proposed to empower even officers, below the rank of an Assistant Commissioner, to call for information or documents regarding any enquiry or audit.

    Earlier, only an Assistant Commissioners or Officers with higher ranks may call for such information.

    — To facilitate taxpayers, it is proposed that appeal before the Commissioner (Appeals) may also be filed through electronically.

    — The period of filing an appeal before the appellate tribunal is proposed to enhance from 30 days to 60 days.

  • Punjab enlists records to be maintained by taxpayers

    Punjab enlists records to be maintained by taxpayers

    LAHORE: The service providers falling under the jurisdiction of Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) are required to maintain records enlisted through provincial Finance Bill, 2020.

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