Author: Mrs. Anjum Shahnawaz

  • Rupee appreciates by three paisas despite higher dollar demand

    Rupee appreciates by three paisas despite higher dollar demand

    KARACHI: The Pak Rupee appreciated by three paisas against dollar on Friday despite higher demand for import payments during upcoming holidays.

    The rupee ended at Rs156.35 to the dollar from previous day’s closing of Rs156.38 in interbank foreign exchange market.

    The foreign currency market was initiated in the range of Rs156.80 and Rs156.90. The market recorded day high of Rs156.80 and low of Rs156.30 and closed at Rs156.35.

    Currency experts said that the higher demand was seen earlier in the day due to upcoming weekly holidays and further two holidays on account of Ashura Muharram on Monday September 09 and Tuesday September 10.

    The exchange rate witnessed stable rupee value in open market.

    The buying and selling of dollar was recorded at Rs156.00/Rs156.50, the same previous day’s level, in cash ready market.

  • SBP imposes Rs805 million penalty on 10 banks for violating AML, due diligence, forex regulations

    SBP imposes Rs805 million penalty on 10 banks for violating AML, due diligence, forex regulations

    KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has imposed penalty amounting Rs805.1 million on 10 banks for violating anti-money laundering, due diligence of customers and foreign exchange regulations during the month of August 2019.

    The central bank issued details on Friday about action taken by the SBP against banks in order to plug loopholes in the banking system.

    The SBP initiated to make public the action taken by the central bank from July 2019 against commercial banks for violating prevailing rules and regulations and amount of penalty imposed on such banks.

    In the latest release of enforcement measures by the SBP also included action against leading banks including Habib Bank Limited and MCB Bank etc.

    The highest amount of penalty of Rs320.08 million has been imposed on Habib Bank Limited followed by MCB Bank of Rs159.152 million, Dubai Islamic Bank of Rs77.97 million.

    Following of are the significant enforcement actions by SBP during August-2019.

    01. Dubai Islamic Bank dated August 01 & 02, 2019:

    Violations in the areas of AML/CFT, Asset Quality

    Monetary penalty of Rs77.974 million was imposed mainly on deficiencies in the areas of AML/CFT. Moreover the bank has been advised timelines to rectify the operational lapses and improve the control environment to avoid recurrence of such lapses/violations in future.

    02. Habib Bank Limited dated August 02 & 03, 2019:

    Violations in the areas of AML/CFT, Consumer Protection

    Monetary penalty of Rs320.08 million was imposed mainly on deficiencies in the areas of AML/CFT and erroneous deduction of service charges from customers. The bank has been advised timelines to bring improvements in its systems/controls to avoid recurrence of such lapses/violations in future.

    03. MCB Bank Limited dated August 03, 2019:

    Violations in the areas of AML/CFT, Asset Quality

    Monetary penalty of Rs159.152 million was imposed mainly on deficiencies in the areas of AML/CFT. The bank has been advised timelines to improve the KYC/CDD processes and integrate eKYC system with core banking system.

    04. Silkbank Limited dated August 03, 2019:

    Violations in the areas of AML/KYC, Asset Quality

    Monetary penalty of Rs53.879 million was imposed mainly on violations of non-surrendering of unclaimed deposits, non-classification of loans and adjustment lending. Moreover, the bank has been advised timelines to classify advances & create provision there against and conduct

    05. Bank Alfalah Limited dated August 03, 2019

    Violations in the areas of FX Operations

    Monetary penalty of Rs52.795 million was imposed mainly on violations of foreign exchange regulations such as restrictions to remit import advance payments, export documentation and non-submission of documents against advance payments.

    06. Allied Bank Limited dated August 03, 2019

    Violations in the areas of AML/KYC, Asset Quality

    Monetary penalty of Rs32.755 million was imposed on breach of various limits of Equity Investment/related party and deficiencies in customer due diligence process. The bank has been advised timelines to bring equity Investment and exposure to related party group within the prescribed limit and revise KYC/CDD process.

    07. Sindh Bank Limited dated August 03, 2019

    Violations in the areas of AML/KYC, Asset Quality, FX Operations

    Monetary penalty of Rs15.088 million was imposed mainly on deficiencies in customer due diligence practices, imprudent lending practices, non-classification of loans. Moreover, in view of the strategic deficiencies in Transaction monitoring system & name screening process, the bank has been advised an action plan/timelines for replacement of their existing TMS and acquiring of name screening solution.

    08. Summit Bank Limited dated August 03, 2019

    Violations in the areas of AML/KYC, Asset Quality

    Monetary penalty of Rs13.072 million was imposed mainly on deficiencies in customer due-diligence process, mis-utilization of loans and non classification of loans. The bank has been advised to timely update customer profiles & properly document the reasons of large value transactions.

    09. JS Bank Limited dated August 05, 2019

    Violations in the areas of AML/KYC, Asset Quality, Corporate Governance

    Monetary penalty of Rs70.307 million was imposed mainly on deficiencies in customer due-diligence process, mis-utilization and non classification of loans etc. The bank has been advised timelines to enhance its systems/process for customer risk profiling (CRP), transaction monitoring and identification of Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs).

    10. Habib Metropolitan Bank Limited dated August 19, 2019

    Violations in the areas of FX Operations

    Monetary penalty of Rs10 million was imposed mainly on a violation of foreign exchange regulations relating to splitting of the import advance payments into smaller transactions.

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  • Prime minister directs FBR to monitor officials during market visits

    Prime minister directs FBR to monitor officials during market visits

    ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday directed Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to monitor its officials during their visit to different markets.

    Chairing a briefing on the performance and reforms in the FBR, the prime minister directed the revenue body to ensure the on-spot-recording of all of their officials interactions during visits to different markets.

    The prime minister said the elimination of corruption from the FBR and its reformation was the government’s priority.

    The revival of public trust in the FBR would also help broaden the tax net, he believed, said a PM Office statement.

    Briefing the prime minister about the performance of the FBR during the previous fiscal year, Chairman FBR Shabbar Zaidi said the board had collected Rs 579 billion revenue till August of the current fiscal, witnessing an increase by 14.65 percent.

    It was informed that this year, the number of filers had also increased by more than 783,000 taking the total number of the filers from 1,514,817 in 2017 to 2,561,099 this year.

  • Increasing Credit Risk: monetary tightening may dent borrowers repayment capacity

    Increasing Credit Risk: monetary tightening may dent borrowers repayment capacity

    KARACHI: The monetary tightening stance of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) may dent repayment capacity of borrowers and may increase the credit risk.

    The SBP admitted in its Financial Stability Review (FSR) 2018 released on Thursday. The central bank said that the banking outlook depends a lot on the future economic prospects and the corresponding policy responses.

    “The monetary tightening towards the end of CY18 and first half of CY19 may lead to re-pricing of loans. This may improve the net interest income and, thus, profitability and solvency of the banking sector,” the SBP said, adding that on the other hand, it may dent the repayment capacity of the borrowers, thus, escalating the credit risk.

    SBP raised the policy rate by 325 bps post CY18 (until July 2019) to address macroeconomic challenges.

    The central bank said that though banks’ fresh loans are disbursed at a higher rate in response to monetary tightening, there still exists a significant portion of outstanding loans, which may be re-priced with some lag due to contractual bindings.

    The fact that major rise in policy rate has occurred towards the end of CY18 and beyond, the borrowers may face further hike in interest expense later on. This coupled with the lower corporate profitability may deteriorate the repayment capacity of borrowers and increase Non-Performing Loans (NPLs).

    “Generally, a lag of four to six quarters exists between the rise in interest rates and the subsequent buildup of NPLs.”

    Further, considering the contraction in LSM during July-March FY19 reflecting the dwindling performance of non-financial corporate sector, suggest that the odds of defaults are increasing.

    Further, any downgrade of a sizeable portion of NPLs parked under “doubtful” and “substandard” categories could raise the provisioning expense for the banks. “Thus, the credit risk remains paramount, going forward.”

    Besides implications arising from the realization of credit risk, the profitability of the banking sector depends upon the costs associated with mitigating the emerging operational risks and the interest rate dynamics.

    The mitigating measures against various risks such as compliance with AML/CFT related laws and regulations, fortifying systems against cyber-attacks, enhanced due diligence to ward-off fake/benami accounts, seeking legal remedies to manage challenges in overseas operations, etc. are all costly.

    The banks investment behavior in government securities and the interest earned there against are largely dependent on interest rate dynamics. Moreover, fiscal measures (such as super tax) has implications for the bank’s after-tax returns and solvency.

    In order to meet the growing financing demand of public and private sector, banks need to renew their focus on deposit mobilization. The sizeable rise in MSR may help in restoring the deposit growth, though.

    Like CY18, the enhanced CAR requirement (from current 11.9 percent to 12.5 percent) by the end of CY19, given slowdown in profitability, may compel banks may have to focus on raising capital through issuance of Basel III qualifying instruments.

    Banks, particularly small sized ones, will need to formulate concrete and time bound capital enhancement plans to meet their capital requirements.

    The strong NSFR and LCR of banks suggest that they will remain compliant with the Basel III liquidity requirements.

  • Bank holiday

    Bank holiday

    KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday announced bank holiday on account of Ashura on Muharram 9 and 10.

    The SBP will remain closed on 9th and 10th September, 2019 (Monday and Tuesday) being 9th & 10th Moharram-ul-Haram, 1441 A.H. on the occasion of Ashura.

    The SBP also announced to celebrate Defence Day and Kashmir Solidarity Day.

    The Government of Pakistan has decided to commemorate Friday, September 6, 2019 as “Defence Day” as well as “Kashmir Solidarity Day”.

    Accordingly, office hours on Friday, September 6, 2019 will be from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. to facilitate all employees to participate in the following activities:

    Commemorate the Defence Day of Pakistan;
    Observe Solidarity with the people of Kashmir; and

    Visit families of Martyrs (Shuhada) and monuments.

  • Foreign exchange reserves flat at $15.619 billion

    Foreign exchange reserves flat at $15.619 billion

    KARACHI – The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reported a marginal shift in the country’s liquid foreign exchange reserves, indicating stability in the economic landscape.

    (more…)
  • Stock market ends flat on mixed trading

    Stock market ends flat on mixed trading

    KARACHI: The stock market ended flat on Thursday in a mixed trading session. The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 30,215 points as against 30,244 points showing a decline of 30 points.

    Analysts at Arif Habib Limited expressed the market started as a sign of recovery turned out to be a short lived spike.

    DGKC and MLCF that started the day on a positive note and saw upper circuit (DGKC) and close to upper circuit trades (MLCF), price came down sharply in the end, due to rumour of Rights issue by both companies.

    Similarly, Steel sector scrips also showed positive trend in the beginning but closed in red in the end.

    E&P sector barely sustained yesterday’s stride and closed at almost same rate as yesterday.

    Besides, POL opened today Ex-Dividend and spiked due to buying activity, however, the end of session again saw it trading below opening rate.

    Banks, Auto & O&GMC sectors also contributed to the slide in Index. Cement sector realized the most volume with 36.1 million shares, followed by Technology (21.3 million) and Chemical (15.6 million).

    Among scrips, MLCF topped the chart with 17.2 million shares followed by WTL (12.9 million) and LOTCHEM (10.4 million).

    Sectors contributing to the performance include Power (+43 points), E&P (+29 points), Banks (+17 points), Fertilizer (-37 points), Cement (-33 points) and O&GMCs (-15 points).

    Volumes increased from 128.9 million shares to 146.5 million shares (+14 percent DoD). Average traded value also increased from US$ 31.3 million to US$ 32.6 million (+4 percent DoD).

    Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include MLCF, WTL, LOTCHEM, PAEL and UNITY, which formed 37 percent of total volumes.

    Stocks that contributed positively include HUBC (+45 points), HBL (+38 points), PPL (+15 points), ABL (+13 points) and OGDC (+13 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include MCB (-36 points), ENGRO (-33 points), UBL (-26 points), NESTLE (-15 points), and LUCK (-12 points).

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  • Rupee ends down on coming holidays

    Rupee ends down on coming holidays

    KARACHI: The Pak Rupee ended down by 15 paisas against dollar on Thursday owing to higher demand due to upcoming long holidays including weekly and on account of Ashura e Muharram.

    The rupee ended Rs156.38 to the dollar from previous day’s closing of Rs156.23 in interbank foreign exchange market.

    Currency experts said that weekly holidays of Saturday and Sunday besides Monday and Tuesday for Muharram 9 and 10 kept pressure on the local unit.

    The foreign currency market was initiated in the range of Rs156.40 and Rs156.50. The market recorded day high of Rs156.44 and low of Rs156.20 and closed at Rs156.38.

    The exchange rate in open market however witnessed appreciation in rupee value.

    The buying and selling of dollar was recorded at Rs156.00/Rs156.50 from previous day’s closing of Rs156.10/Rs156.60 in interbank foreign exchange market.

  • Procedure to get income tax registration for return filing

    Procedure to get income tax registration for return filing

    KARACHI: The income tax return filing by salaried persons, business individuals and Association of Persons (AOPs) is due on September 30, 2019. In order to file return one should get income tax registration.

    Following is the procedure for obtaining income tax registration as issued by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

    The first step of filing your Income Tax Return is to register yourself with Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

    For Income Tax Registration Individual can register online through Iris Portal

    Whereas, the principal officer of AOP and Company needs to visit Regional Tax Office (RTO)

    Taxpayer Registration basics

    Some important facts about Registration

    An individual, a company and an association of persons (AOP) or foreign national shall be treated as registered, when they are e-enrolled on the Iris portal.

    E-Enrollment with FBR provides you with a National Tax Number (NTN) or Registration Number and password.

    In case of individuals, 13 digits Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC) will be used as NTN or Registration Number.

    NTN or Registration Number for AOP and Company is the 7 digits NTN received after e-enrollment.

    These credentials allow access to Iris portal, the online Income Tax system, which is only way through which online Income Tax Return can be filed.

    Requirements before Registration

    An individual needs to ensure that the following information is available before starting e-enrollment.

    Requirements of e-enrollment for an individual are as follows:

    CNIC/NICOP/Passport number

    Cell phone number in use

    Active e-mail address

    Nationality

    Residential address

    Accounting period

    In case of business income

    business name

    business address

    Principal business activity

    Name and NTN of employer in case of salary income

    Address of property in case of property income

    Principal Officer of Company and AOP needs to ensure that the following information is available before starting e-enrollment

    Following particulars are required for registration:

    Name of company or AOP

    Business name

    Business address

    Accounting period

    Business phone number

    E-mail address

    Cell phone number of principal officer of the company or AOP

    Principal business activity

    Address of industrial establishment or principal place of business

    Company type, like public limited, private limited, unit trust, trust, NGO, society, small company, modaraba or any other

    Date of registration

    Incorporation certificate by Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) in case of company

    Registration certificate and partnership deed in case of registered firm

    Partnership deed in case firm is not registered

    Trust deed in case of trust

    Registration certificate in case of society

    Name of representative with his CNIC or NTN

    Following particulars of every director and major shareholder having 10% or more shares in case of company or partners in case of an AOP, namely:-

    Name

    CNIC/NTN/Passport and

    Share %

    Requirements for Registration of Non-Resident Company having permanent establishment in Pakistan shall furnish the following particulars:

    Name of company

    Business address

    Accounting period

    Phone number of business

    Principal business activity

    Address of principal place of business

    Registration number and date of the branch with the Securities and Exchange

    Commission of Pakistan (SECP)

    Name and address of principal officer or authorized representative of the company

    Authority letter for appointment of principal officer or authorized representative of the company

    Cell phone number of principal officer or authorized representative of the company and

    Email address of principal officer or authorized representative of the company

    Non-Resident Company not having permanent establishment in Pakistan shall furnish the following particulars:

    Name of company

    Business address in the foreign country

    Name and nationality of directors or trustees of the company

    Accounting period

    Name and address of authorized representative of the company

    Authority letter for appointment of authorized representative of the company

    Cell phone number of authorized representative of the company

    Email address of authorized representative of the company

    Principal business activity and

    Tax Registration or incorporation document from concerned regulatory authorities of the foreign country

    Registration process

    Online Registration

    Online registration is available only for:

    Individual and not for Association of Person or Company;

    Before starting online registration, the Taxpayer must have:

    Read User Guide;

    A computer, scanner and internet connection;

    A cell phone with SIM registered against their own CNIC;

    A personal email address belonging to them;

    Scanned pdf files of:

    Certificate of maintenance of personal bank account in his own name;

    Evidence of tenancy / ownership of business premises, if having a business;

    Paid utility bill of business premises not older than 3 months, if having a business.

    Online registration is available at Iris

    Registration at Facilitation Counters of Tax Houses

    Registration at Facilitation Counters of Tax Houses is available for all:

    Individual, Association of Person and Company;

    Income Tax and Sales Tax;

    For Registration of an Individual, the Individual must:

    Personally go to any Facilitation Counter of any Tax House;

    Take the following documents with him:

    Original CNIC;

    Cell phone with SIM registered against his own CNIC;

    Personal Email address belonging to him;

    Original certificate of maintenance of personal bank account in his own name;

    Original evidence of tenancy / ownership of business premises, if having a business;

    Original paid utility bill of business premises not older than 3 months, if having a business.

    For Registration of an AOP, anyone of the Members / Partners must:

    Personally go to any Facilitation Counter of any Tax House

    Take the following documents with him:

    Original partnership deed, in case of Firm;

    Original registration certificate from Registrar of Firms, in case of Firm.

    CNICs of all Members / Partners;

    Original letter on letterhead of the AOP signed by all Members / Partners, authorizing anyone of the Members / Partners for Income / Sales Tax Registration;

    Cell phone with SIM registered against his own CNIC but not already registered with the FBR;

    Email address belonging to the AOP;

    Original certificate of maintenance of bank account in AOP’s name;

    Original evidence of tenancy / ownership of business premises, if having a business;

    Original paid utility bill of business premises not older than 3 months, if having a business.

    For Registration of a Company, the Principal Officer must:

    Personally go to any Facilitation Counter of any Tax House

    Take the following document with him:

    Incorporation Certificate of the Company;

    CNICs of all Directors;

    Original letter on letterhead of the company signed by all Directors, verifying the Principal Officer and authorizing him for Income Tax / Sales Tax Registration;

    Cell phone with SIM registered against his own CNIC but not already registered with the FBR;

    Email address belonging to the Company;

    Original certificate of maintenance of bank account in Company’s name;

    Original evidence of tenancy / ownership of business premises, if having a business;

    Original paid utility bill of business premises not older than 3 months, if having a business.

    Modification of Income Tax Registration

    Income Tax Registration of a person can be modified after discovering any change or omission in any information, particulars, data or documents associated with the registration of the person.

    Person would have to file a modification form of registration in Iris to change the relevant particulars.

    The Commissioner will grant or refuse the requested modification of the person after examining the modification form of registration and making any inquiry deemed necessary.

    Person can within thirty (30) days of the decision regarding modification file a representation before the Chief Commissioner.

    Chief Commissioner will decide on the merits of the representation filed.

  • Stock market holiday notice

    Stock market holiday notice

    KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange Limited (PSX) will remain closed for two days i.e. September 9 – 10, 2019 on account of Ashura 9th and 10th Muharram.

    A notice issued by the PSX on Wednesday informing all the TRE Certificate Holders, staff and concerned that PSX will remain closed on Monday, September 9, 2019 and Tuesday, September 10, 2019 on account of Ashura 9th and 10th of Muharram, 1441 AH.