Author: Mrs. Anjum Shahnawaz

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.

February 20, 2020
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.

February 20, 2020
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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February 20, 2020
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

February 20, 2020
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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February 20, 2020
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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February 20, 2020
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.

February 20, 2020
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.

February 19, 2020
IR officers to get information of importers through online customs system

KARACHI: The officers of Inland Revenue to access online system of customs clearance for monitoring of withholding tax collected from importers.

The sources in Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) said that the Collectors of Customs of Sea Ports/Dry Ports are obliged to collect withholding tax on imports as per prescribed rates.

In the case of goods/equipments imported through Airways, each Collector is obliged to collect tax at the time of clearance. Statements are to be filed on monthly basis.

Tax under this section is collected from all, except from the imports by Government or exempt entities on the basis of certificate issued by a Commissioner.

The sources said that Large Taxpayers Units (LTUs) and Regional Tax Offices (RTOs) have access to WeBOC – the online customs clearance system – for accessing the documents filed by importers for determination of withholding tax at import stage.

According to official documents for monitoring of withholding taxes, said that the authorized officer of each RTO should coordinate with Customs authorities, hold macro analysis of imports by Government, by other agencies, those treated exempt, and perform the system audit of imports, if required.

The exemptions allowed to the imports made by exempt entities, the cases where Commissioner issued exemption certificates or SRO based exemptions were allowed; need to be examined to ascertain their admissibility.

Categorization of imports, as provided in the online system should be strictly enforced by the Customs authorities. Concerned RTO should coordinate the matter accordingly.

A centralized web based system has been introduced for issuance of certificates by the Commissioners and creation of a centralized Database.

On-line verification of certificates by the concerned authorities will form part of it. This is necessary for ascertaining the genuineness of exemption certificates.
PRAL should send the data received from NBP/Customs House to each RTO on daily basis.

Tax collected as per Customs data and tax actually deposited in NBP and reported through CAP should be reconciled by PRAL on monthly basis with the RTO as part of normal exercise for reconciliation of revenue. Discrepancies should be reported to concerned Collector/ PRAL for reconciliation.

A comprehensive scheme of allotting tax numbers is in place. All importers should essentially have a Tax Registration Number that is either NTN or Free Tax Number (FTN) and no import should be allowed without a valid tax number.

February 19, 2020
FBR bans leaves of officials for revenue collection

ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Wednesday banned all kind of leaves of its officers and officials with immediate effect in order to collect revenue in the remaining period of current fiscal year.

In an official note issued by the FBR said that it had been observed with concern that field formations of the FBR were forwarding requests for grant of leaves, including ex-Pakistan leave despite the fact that the third quarter (January March) of the current fiscal year was nearing its completion and the entire tax machinery was required to accelerate its efforts to achieve the assigned budgetary targets through full devotion during the balance part of the current financial year.

Therefore, it has been decided by the FBR that requests for grant of ex-Pakistan leaves may not be forwarded to the board by the respective heads of field formations till June 30, 2020, except, requests for Hajj, Umrah and Ziarat.

“All such cases shall be processed in the Board after the beginning of next financial year,” the FBR said.

“Similarly, local leaves/leaves of other kind may also not be granted liberally and may only be allowed in the light of special circumstances/hardship cases,” the FBR added.

February 19, 2020