Author: Mrs. Anjum Shahnawaz

  • Simplified tax regime for non-residents approved: Dr. Hafeez Shaikh

    Simplified tax regime for non-residents approved: Dr. Hafeez Shaikh

    ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) on Wednesday approved a simplified tax regime to facilitate the non-resident companies for investment in the local capital market.

    Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Advisor to Prime Minister on Finance said that the ECC had approved a simplified tax regime to facilitate the non-resident companies for investment in the local capital market.

    Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh said that these incentives will increase the foreign exchange inflows and reserves of the country.

    A statement issued after the ECC meeting stated that the meeting has approved separate proposals for simplification of tax regime for non-resident companies investing in the local debt market, revision of cess rate on tobacco for the year 2019-2020 and payment of outstanding amount of Rs 5.85 billion as gas subsidy to the fertilizer industry.

    The approvals were given at a meeting of the ECC which met here at the Cabinet Block with Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance & Revenue Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh in the chair.

    The ECC was also briefed on the wheat situation in the country and it was pointed out that while prices were stable in most parts of the country, there were certain areas and places such as Karachi where the wheat and flour prices had escalated.

    The ECC directed the Ministry of National Food Security and Research to sit down with all stakeholders and ensure that the situation does not get out of hands and supply of wheat and flour at regular prices is ensured.

    The ECC also considered a proposal by the Ministry of Energy for application of quarterly adjustment notified on 1st July 2019 to the zero rated industrial consumers and for it to be charged over and above the notified tariff for zero rated industrial consumers at 7.5 cents as well as a proposal to the effect that Financial Cost Surcharge, Neelum Jhelum Surcharge, taxes and positive fuel adjustments would not be part of billing to zero rated sector industrial consumers and would be part of subsidy claims to be picked by the Government of Pakistan.

    The Committee discussed the pros and cons of the proposal in view of its financial implications and asked the Finance Division to hold a meeting with the stakeholders, including the Power Division, Commerce Division and Industries & Production Division and resubmit the case to ECC with solid proposals.

    The ECC also approved proposals submitted by the Ministry of Finance for simplification of tax regime for non-resident companies investing in the local debt market with a view to deepening the country’s capital markets, reducing the cost of debt for the government and increasing foreign exchange inflows and reserves.

    The new tax regime as approved by the ECC would apply to the non-resident companies having no permanent presence in Pakistan.

    The ECC also took up a proposal for extension and rehabilitation of gas network in the oil and gas producing districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and referred the matter to the Development Working Party headed by the Secretary Petroleum for an appropriate decision.

  • Stock market gains 435 points on lower inflation numbers

    Stock market gains 435 points on lower inflation numbers

    KARACHI: The stock market gained 435 points on Wednesday owing to lower than anticipated inflation numbers.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 30,244 points as against 29,810 points showing an increase of 435 points.

    Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the release of Consumer Price Index (CPI) data proved to be required stimulus that the investors were waiting for.

    Latest release of CPI indicates a lower than anticipated reading and gave confidence to the view that SBP will likely consider revising down the policy rate.

    Buying activity was observed almost across the board with the exception of banking sector scrips, which kept the blue chips in banking sector universe in red and the main reason behind -342 points earlier in the session.

    In totality, the index spiked by 568 points by close of session and ended at +557 points (unadjusted). Cement sector led the upsurge in index, which was supported by O&GMCs and E&P sectors where OGDC and PPL also hit upper circuit.

    Sectors that led the volumes table included Cement (29.2 million), Banks (18 million) and Technology (13.5 million). Among scrips, MLCF (11.4 million), FCCL (9.9 million) and UNITY (9.4 million) contributed to the performance.

    Sectors contributing to the performance include E&P (+148 points), Cement (+81 points), Fertilizer (+56 points), O&GMCs (+46 points), Power (+20 points), Banks (-33 points).

    Volumes doubled from 64 million shares to 128.7 million shares (+101 percent DoD). Average traded value also increased by 100 percent DoD to reach US$ 31.2 million as against US$ 15.6 million.

    Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include MLCF, FCCL, UNITY, WTL and LOTCHEM, which formed 35 percent of total volumes.

    Stocks that contributed positively include ENGRO (+61 points), OGDC (+56 points), PPL (+54 points), LUCK (+46 points) and MCB (+39 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include BAHL (-38 points), MEBL (-25 points), FFC (-17 points), NBP (-7 points), and HBL (-7 points).

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  • Rupee gains 40 paisas on improved inflows

    Rupee gains 40 paisas on improved inflows

    KARACHI: The Pak Rupee gained 40 paisas against dollar on Wednesday owing to inflows of export receipts and remittances.

    The rupee ended Rs156.23 to the dollar from previous day’s closing of Rs156.63 in interbank foreign exchange market.

    Currency experts said that inflows of workers remittances and export receipts helped the local currency to gain values.

    The foreign currency market was initiated in the range of Rs156.50 and Rs156.60. The market recorded day high of Rs156.64 and low of Rs156.23 and closed at Rs156.23.

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

    The buying and selling of dollar was recorded at Rs156.10/Rs156.60 from previous day’s closing of Rs156.20/Rs156.70 in interbank foreign exchange market.

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  • Two cellular companies pay $449 million as license renewal fees

    Two cellular companies pay $449 million as license renewal fees

    ISLAMABAD: The government has received $449 million from two cellular companies as license renewal fees.

    “The government of Pakistan has received payment amounting to $224.6 million and Rs 35.262 billion (equivalent of $224.6 million) from two cellular companies respectively as their license renewal fee,” says a press statement issued by the Ministry of Finance on Tuesday.

    According to the statement, the license renewal fee of telecom companies collected by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority is a significant source of non-tax revenue for the federal government.

    “The government received Rs 35.2 billion from Jazz and US$ 224.6 million from Telenor in partial settlement for their cellular license renewal,” Dr. Hafeez Shaikh, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Finance, said in a twitter message.

    “Good news for the telecom industry and revenue collection of the federal government,” he added.

    Due to stay orders given by the apex court, the collection of this renewal fee from two telecom companies which was budgeted in previous fiscal year had been delayed.

    However, with the efforts of the Adviser to Prime Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, his team led by Secretary Finance and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, due payment from the two companies has now been received by the government.

  • Pakistan, Saudi Customs to exchange intelligence based information

    Pakistan, Saudi Customs to exchange intelligence based information

    ISLAMABAD: The customs authorities of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have agreed to further explore intelligence based information to strengthen mutual cooperation.

    A five-member delegation of Saudi Customs Authority visited Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), to discuss various matters of mutual interest and assistance, a statement said on Tuesday.

    The Saudi Customs delegation was headed by Muhammad AlNuaim, Deputy Governor of Security Affairs. Pakistani side was headed by Shabbar Raza Zaidi, Chairman, FBR.

    Muhammad Javed Ghani, Member (Customs-Policy), Jawwad Uwais Agha (Member-Operations) and other senior officers of Pakistan customs also participated in the meeting.

    Both sides shared their experiences in law enforcement domain and further explored avenues of future cooperation in following areas of mutual interest:

    1. Exchange of Information, on real time basis, between both countries regarding values of goods originating from both countries;

    2. Exchange of intelligence based information to effectively control illicit flow of currency;

    3. Development of authorized economic cooperation program between both countries;

    4. Profiling of advance passenger information;

    5. Cooperation between Saudi Customs and Pakistani Customs in order to arrest the senders and recipients of drugs;

    6. Exchange of post seizure and arrest investigations;

    7. Designation of contact officers for mutual cooperation;

    8. Capacity building for automation/harmonization of customs procedures.

    It was underscored that the menace of narcotics, smuggling and under invoicing/over invoicing are the primary sources of illicit financial flows (IFFs) which is inherently a global phenomenon.

    It was mutually agreed that no country can cope with these cross border challenges without ensuring international cooperation.

    Therefore, there is a dire need for both brotherly countries to support each other by all possible means of cooperation through international forums as well as Customs to Customs Cooperation under Mutual Assistance Agreements.

    AlNuaim expressed that the Saudi government give great value to its brotherly relations with the government of Pakistan.

    He informed that the Saudi government has recently introduced new monetary limits on currency which so far are not well known to the visitors from Pakistan.

    He requested to share this information by launching a public awareness campaign in this regard.

    Javed Ghani, Member (Customs-Policy) ensured cooperation and informed that the control of currency smuggling is one of the prime priorities of present regime.

    Therefore, declaration of currency has now been made mandatory and FBR has taken various legal and administrative actions to improve interdictory regime against currency smuggling.

    Jawwad Uwais Agha gave brief details of the National Single Window (NSW) and told the delegates that this initiative provides a complete framework for intra agency cooperation in Pakistan.

    The delegation was apprised that at national level, Risk Based Mitigation Secretary (RBMS) has been evolved after taking due input from all stake holder agencies including Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Anti Narcotics Force, Airport Security Force and Pakistan Customs.

    Under RBMS, a totally new institutional apparatus has been setup with a dedicated Directorate, namely, Cross Border Currency Movement (CBMC) within the Directorate General of Customs Intelligence & Investigation to address the risks of cash smuggling.

    This measure has turned out very successful as in FY 2018-2019 total 487 million rupees were seized under its intelligence sharing against 157 million rupees in the FY 2017-2018.

    The Saudi delegation appreciated these efforts and showed keen interest in the project of National Single Window, National Targeting Centre and Advance Passenger Information Systems (APIS).

    Both sides unanimously agreed that there exists huge scope for enhanced cooperation between both the countries which will help them to address a wide range of problems originating from currency smuggling, narcotics and mis-declarations.

  • User manual in Urdu language for income tax registration

    User manual in Urdu language for income tax registration

    KARACHI: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has issued user manual in Urdu language for income tax registration.

    The FBR anticipates large number of new taxpayers will file tax returns for tax year 2019.

    The user guideline will help new return filers to get registration in steps.

    Following is the registration procedure for new taxpayer:

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  • Floating rate of PIBs to be auctioned: SBP

    Floating rate of PIBs to be auctioned: SBP

    KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Tuesday announced that floating rate of Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs) will be auctioned.

    The central bank sand that it had issued detailed guidelines on May 07, 2018 through a notification under which details of Floating Rate PIBs have been specified.

    Government of Pakistan (GOP) has decided that Floating Rate PIBs may also be auctioned as re-opening of previously issued Floating Rate PIBs.

    The re-opening auction mechanism of Floating Rate PIBs will be as under:

    Re-opening auctions of Floating Rate PIBs will be conducted through uniform price competitive bidding auction process.

    PDs will submit competitive bids in terms of price (up to four decimal points).

    The cut-off price, at which GOP decides to accept bids, in the re-opening auction will apply uniformly to all accepted bids.

    Coupon rate on Floating Rate PIBs offered in re-opening auctions will be the same as determined in the first auction of respective issue of the bond and reset at the start of each coupon period, in accordance with instructions issued vide DMMD Circular no 16 of 2019.

    The successful bidders will make the settlement on settlement date at the amount calculated as per accepted price plus accrued interest for the number of days lapsed since start of the coupon period based on respective coupon rate.

    All other auction rules and procedures will remain the same.

    All other instructions on the subject will remain unchanged.

  • KSE-100 falls by 248 points on selling pressure

    KSE-100 falls by 248 points on selling pressure

    KARACHI: The stock market fell 248 points on Tuesday on selling pressure at the closing.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index closed at 29,810 points as against 30,057 points showing a decline of 248 points.

    Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market opened on a positive note today with 25 points and extended gains till 190 points after which selling activity caused the index to plunge by 318 points.

    Last half hour of market kept the selling pressure, ending the session with -248 points. OGDC, PPL performed well earlier in the session and showed gains over yesterday’s closing, however, profit booking caused the stocks to retreat with a closure below LDCP.

    Other than E&P, Cement, Fertilizer and Banking sector added fuel to selling pressure.

    Cement sector led the volumes table with 11 million shares, followed by Technology (9.2 million) and E&P (4.7 million).

    Among scrips, MLCF garnered 6.2 million shares, followed by WTL (4.5 million) and UNITY (4.2 million).

    Sectors contributing to the performance include Banks (-70 points), Cement (-49 points), Power (-41 points), E&P (-21 points), and Pharma (-19 points).

    Volumes declined further from 77.4 million shares to 63.9 million (-17 percent DoD). Average traded value also declined by 6 percent to reach US$ 15.6 million as against US$ 16.5 million.

    Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include MLCF, WTL, UNITY, TRG and OGDC, which formed 34 percent of total volumes.

    Stocks that contributed positively include SNGP (+8 points), NML (+7 points), MUREB (+6 points), AICL (+6 points) and DAWH (+5 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include HUBC (-35 points), LUCK (-31 points), MCB (-26 points), PPL (-20 points), and MEBL (-14 points).

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  • Rupee ends unchanged

    Rupee ends unchanged

    KARACHI: The Pak Rupee ended unchanged against dollar on Tuesday amid demand for import and corporate payments.

    The rupee ended Rs156.63 to the dollar, same previous day’s closing in interbank foreign exchange market.

    Currency experts said that the rupee value was stable despite demand for import and corporate payments.

    The foreign currency market was initiated in the range between Rs156.50 and Rs156.70. The market recorded day high of Rs156.76 and low of Rs156.55 in interbank foreign exchange market.

    The exchange rate in open market also witnessed no change in value of the local currency.

    The buying and selling of dollar was recorded at Rs156.20/Rs156.70, same previous day’s level, in cash ready market.

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  • Countdown begins for tax year 2019 return filing

    Countdown begins for tax year 2019 return filing

    KARACHI: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has given less than a month to taxpayers for filing income tax return and wealth statements for tax year 2019.

    The FBR on Monday issued finalized income tax return forms form salaried persons, business individuals and Association of Persons (AOPs).

    The last date for filing income tax returns and wealth statement for such segments of taxpayers is September 30, 2019.

    The last date for filing of income tax returns by salaried persons has been amended through Finance Act, 2019 to September 30, 2019 from August 31, 2019.

    These taxpayers have a time of 28 days to comply with the statutory requirement under Section 118 of Income Tax Ordinance, 2001.

    Corporate entities having accounting year ending any time between the first day of January and the thirtieth day of June are required to file income tax returns on or before the thirty-first day of December next following the end of the tax year to which the return relates.

    In any other case, on or before the thirtieth day of September next following the end of the tax year to which the return relates.

    However, the corporate returns are still in draft format and FBR likely to issue finalized return form for companies by this week.

    According to Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 every resident taxpayer being an individual filing a return of income for any tax year shall furnish a wealth statement and wealth reconciliation statement for that year along with such return:

    It also explained that every member of an association of persons is also required to furnish wealth statement and wealth reconciliation statement for the year along with return of income of the association.

    For tax year 2019, every resident taxpayer being an individual having foreign income of not less than ten thousand United States dollars or having foreign assets with a value of not less than one hundred thousand United States dollars shall furnish a statement, hereinafter referred to as the foreign income and assets statement, in the prescribed form and verified in the prescribed manner giving particulars of—

    (a) the person’s total foreign assets and liabilities as on the last day of the tax year;

    (b) any foreign assets transferred by the person to any other person during the tax year and the consideration for the said transfer; and

    (c) complete particulars of foreign income, the expenditure derived during the tax year and the expenditure wholly and necessarily for the purposes of deriving the said income.

    Under Section 114 of Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 following persons are required to furnish a return of income for a tax year, namely:–

    (a) every company;

    (ab) every person (other than a company) whose taxable income for the year exceeds the maximum amount that is not chargeable to tax under this Ordinance for the year;

    (ac) any non-profit organization as defined in clause (36) of section 2;

    (ad) any welfare institution approved under clause (58) of Part I of the Second Schedule;

    (b) any person not covered by clause (a), (ab), (ac) or (ad) who,—

    (i) has been charged to tax in respect of any of the two preceding tax years;

    (ii) claims a loss carried forward under this Ordinance for a tax year;

    (iii) owns immovable property with a land area of two hundred and fifty square yards or more or owns any flat located in areas falling within the municipal limits existing immediately before the commencement of Local Government laws in the provinces; or areas in a Cantonment; or the Islamabad Capital Territory;

    (iv) owns immoveable property with a land area of five hundred square yards or more located in a rating area;

    (v) owns a flat having covered area of two thousand square feet or more located in a rating area;

    (vi) owns a motor vehicle having engine capacity above 1000 CC;

    (vii) has obtained National Tax Number; or

    (viii) is the holder of commercial or industrial connection of electricity where the amount of annual bill exceeds rupees five hundred thousand;

    (ix) is a resident person registered with any chamber of commerce and industry or any trade or business association or any market committee or any professional body including Pakistan Engineering Council, Pakistan Medical and Dental Council, Pakistan Bar Council or any Provincial Bar Council, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan or Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan; or

    (x) every resident person being an individual required to file foreign income and assets statement under section 116A.

    (1A) Every individual whose income under the head ‘Income from business’ exceeds rupees three hundred thousand but does not exceed rupees four hundred thousand in a tax year is also required to furnish return of income from the tax year.

    (2) A return of income –

    (a) shall be in the prescribed form and shall be accompanied by such annexures, statements or documents as may be prescribed;

    (b) shall fully state all the relevant particulars or information as specified in the form of return, including a declaration of the records kept by the taxpayer;

    (c) shall be signed by the person, being an individual, or the person’s representative where section 172 applies;

    (d) shall be accompanied with evidence of payment of due tax as per return of income;

    (e) shall be accompanied with a wealth statement as required under section 116; and

    (f) shall be accompanied with a foreign income and assets statement as required under section 116A.

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