Author: Mrs. Anjum Shahnawaz

Share market gains 14 points amid high volume

KARACHI: The stock market gained a nominal 14 points on Tuesday amid high volume trading, analysts said.

The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 32,972 points as against 32,958 points showing an increase of 14 points.

Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market volumes finally breached the anemic 40 million level and totaled 138.7 million shares.

Cement and E&P sector played a major role in setting the pace of market today, which oscillated between +135 points and -354 points.

E&P scrips POL and PPL traded near lower circuits, whereas OGDC also saw significant selling pressure.

Similarly, O&GMCs saw key scrips under pressure, such as PSO and SNGP.

MLCF and DGKC also traded near lower circuits, however, recovered later in the day’s trading. Cement sector led the volumes table with 27 million shares, followed by Power (22 million) and Technology (15 million).

Scrip wise activity shows KEL as volume leader with 20M shares, followed by MLCF (14 million) and TRG (13 million).

Sectors contributing to the performance include banks (46 points), Cement (26 points), Fertilizer (18 points), Power Generation (4 points), and Transport (3 points).

Volumes increased by from 138.7 million shares to 69.1 million shares.

Average traded value increased by merely 92 percent to reach US$ 28.3 million as against US$ 14.8 million.

Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include KEL, MLCF, TRG, BOP and LOTCHEM, which formed 43 percent of total volumes.

Stocks that contributed positively include UBL (+24 points), LUCK (+24 points), HBL (+23 points), ENGRO (+17 points) and MCB (+15 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include POL (-29 points), PPL (-21 points), BAHL(-11 points), NML (-10 points) and ABOT (-9 points).

July 16, 2019
Rupee ends 160.06 against dollar

KARACHI: The Pak Rupee ended down by 19 paisas against dollar on Tuesday amid money policy announcement and higher demand for import and corporate payments.

The rupee ended Rs160.06 to the dollar from previous day’s closing of Rs159.87 in interbank foreign exchange market.

The foreign currency market was initiated in the range of Rs160.25 and Rs160.60. The market recorded day high of Rs160.95 and low of Rs159.90 in interbank foreign exchange market.

Currency experts said that the local currency would remain under pressure due to schedule repayment of foreign debt and payment for imports.

The exchange rate in open market also witnessed depreciation in local currency. The buying and selling of dollar was recorded at Rs160.00/Rs160.50 from previous day’s closing of Rs159.50/Rs160.50 in cash ready market.

July 16, 2019
SBP increases key policy rate by 100bps to 13.25 percent

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Tuesday increased key policy rate by 100 basis points to 13.25 percent for next two months.

The policy rate was announced by SBP governor Reza Baqir at a press conference here on Tuesday.

The governor said that the monetary policy is announced in the month of July. He said that Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is an independent body to decide the policy rate.

The governor said that the increase in utility prices would have inflationary pressure. The average inflation during the current fiscal year may increase to 11 to 12 percent. However, the pace of inflation will ease down during third and fourth quarter, he added.

He said that hike in utility prices would inflate the prices of essential items. It may hurt the purchase power of common men. Considering these elements the committee decided to increase the discount rate, he added.

The governor said that the policy rate would be eased if indicators showed improvements in coming months.

The SBP later in its press release issued the following statement:

There have been three key developments since the last MPC meeting.

First, the Government of Pakistan has passed a FY20 budget that seeks to credibly improve fiscal sustainability by focusing on revenue measures to widen the tax base.

Adjustments in utility prices and other measures in the budget are expected to lead to a one-time considerable increase in prices in the first half of FY20.

On the other hand, the government has also committed to cease borrowing from the State Bank that would qualitatively improve the inflation outlook.

Second, the outlook for external financing has further strengthened with the disbursement of the first tranche associated with the IMF Extended Fund Facility, activation of the Saudi oil facility, and other commitments of support from multilateral and bilateral partners.

The current account deficit has also continued to fall suggesting that external pressures continue to decline. On the other hand, the depreciation in the exchange rate since the last MPC has added to inflationary pressures.

Finally, on the international front, the sentiment towards emerging markets has improved with greater expectations of a policy rate cut in the United States.

The SBP said that domestic demand is estimated to moderate to about 3 percent in FY19 and GDP growth to 3.3 percent.

While current high frequency indicators point to a slowing in economic activity, this is expected to turn around in the course of the year on the back of improved market sentiments in the context of IMF supported program, a rebound in the agriculture sector and the gradual impact of government incentives for export-oriented industries. Conditional upon the latest available information, SBP expect the real GDP growth of around 3.5 percent in FY20.

External conditions show continued steady improvement with a sizeable reduction in the current account deficit which fell by 29.3 percent to US$ 12.7 billion in Jul-May FY19 as compared to US$ 17.9 billion during the same period last year.

This improvement was primarily driven by import compression and healthy growth in workers’ remittances. Export volumes have been growing even though export values have remained subdued due to a fall in unit prices as also experienced by competitor exporting countries.

Future developments in export performance will also depend on growth rates of our trading partners and progress in alleviating domestic structural impediments.

SBP’s foreign exchange reserves have risen to about US$8 billion on 12th July 2019 with the disbursement of the first tranche of the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility.

Reserves are expected to rise further in FY20 on account of additional financial inflows from other international creditors including those related to the Saudi oil facility and continued improvement in current account deficit.

The bulk of the needed adjustment in the real effective exchange rate to address the past overhang of overvaluation has been completed with the recent deprecation of the exchange rate.

While the exchange rate is flexible and market determined the SBP stands ready to take action to address disorderly market conditions in the foreign exchange market.

Led by substantial shortfall in revenue collection, higher than budgeted interest payments and security related expenditures, both the overall fiscal and primary deficits deteriorated in FY19.

The FY20 budget seeks to credibly reverse the recent trend of fiscal deterioration by addressing long-standing weaknesses in the taxation system and to enhance documentation of economic activities.

On the back of an ambitious target for tax collection and tight control over expenditures, the budget envisaged a sizable reduction in primary deficit. This fiscal consolidation would support SBP’s stabilization policies already in place.

From a monetary policy perspective, the government’s strong commitment to end its borrowing from the SBP, and the implementation of liability management operation to restructure the outstanding debt held by SBP, would positively contribute towards monetary policy transmission while credibly anchor markets’ inflation expectations going forward.

Reflecting the impact of stabilization measures, private sector credit (PSC) growth has started to decelerate. PSC expanded 11.4 percent during 1st Jul – 28th Jun FY19 as compared to 14.8 percent during the same period last year.

The deceleration in credit was more pronounced in real terms as the increase in PSC was largely driven by higher input prices, which in turn increased the working capital needs of the businesses. This, together with higher budgetary borrowing led to a sharp increase in the net domestic assets (NDA) of the banking system.

In aggregate, broad money supply (M2) grew by 12.2 percent during 1st Jul – 28th Jun FY19 as compared to 10 percent during the comparable period last year.

Going forward, the composition of money supply is expected to change as NFA of the banking system is projected to improve, while the growth in NDA is likely to show substantial moderation.

July 16, 2019
Sindh notifies new motor vehicle tax rates

KARACHI: The Sindh government has notified new rates of motor vehicle tax effective from July 01, 2019 amendment through Provincial Finance Act, 2019 for the year 2019/2020.

The provincial government increased the rate of tax for higher engine capacity motor vehicles to Rs150,000 and Rs75,000.

Further rates are modified in following manner:

1. (a) (i) Motorcycles/Scooter not already registered not more than 149CC: Rs1800/once for all

(ii) Motorcycle/scooter 150cc and above: Rs3000/ once for all.

(b) Motorcycle/Scooter already registered and since first registration, the vehicle-

(i) has not completed 5 years; Rs600/ once for all or Rs80 per annum

(ii) has completed 5 years but not completed 10 years: Rs300/ once for all or Rs80 per annum

(iii) has completed 10 years but has not completed 15 years: Rs100/once for all or Rs80 per annuam.

(c) (i) Motor cars/jeeps etc. (Non-commercial having engine capacity up to 1000cc not already registered.: Rs20,000 once for all.

(ii) Motor cars/ jeeps etc. (Non commercial having Engine Capacity up to 1000cc already, registered having up to date tax payment and since first registration vehicles-

(a) Has not completed five years Rs15,000 once for all

(b) Has completed five years but not completed 10 years: Rs10,000 once for all.

(c) After completion of 10 years: Rs8,000 once for all.

2. Motor vehicles not exceeding 250kgs in un-laden weight adopted and used for invalids: not tax

3. Vehicles (trucks/trailer / Delivery vans/ Mini Buses and pick-ups etc. used for transport or haulage of goods or materials.

(a) Electrical propelled vehicles not exceeding 1250 kgs in un-laden weight: Rs750/ per annum

(b) Vehicles with maximum laden exceeding 1250 but not exceeding 4060 kgs. Rs1200 per annum

(c) Vehicles with maximum laden capacity exceeding 4060 kgs but not exceeding 8120 kgs: Rs3000 per annum

(d) Vehicles with maximum laden capacity exceeding 8120kgs but not exceeding 16000 kgs. Rs9000 per annum

(e) Vehicles with maximum laden capacity exceeding 16000 kgs: Rs12000 per annum

(f) All types of cranes: Rs3000 per annum

4. Vehicle plying for hire and ordinarily used for transport of passengers (taxis and buses)

(i) Tricycle propelled by mechanical power (rickshaws cabs) with seating capacity of not more than 3 percents: Rs600 per annum

(ii) Motor vehicles with a seating capacity of more than 20 persons plying for hire exclusively within the limit of a corporation, municipality or cantonment or partly within and partly outside such limit with sixty percent of the total length of the route falling within the limits of a corporation, municipality or cantonment: Rs150 per seat.

(iii) Mini buses with a seating capacity of not more than 20 percents plying for hire exclusively within the limit of corporation, municipality or cantonment: Rs240 per seat

Explanation: For the purpose of this clause, the seating capacity shall not include the seats meant for driver and conductor.

(iv) Motor vehicles with seating capacity of more than 20 persons plying for hire within or outside the limits of corporation, municipality

(a) Air Conditioned: Rs225 per seat

(b) Non Air Conditioned: Rs150 per seat

(v) Other vehicles with a seating capacity:

(a) Not more than 4 percent: Rs780 per annum

(b) More than 4 persons but not more than 6 persons: Rs900 per annum

(c) More than 6 persons: Rs300 per seat

5. Motor vehicles (motor cars/jeeps other than those mentioned above and having-

(a) Seating capacity of not more than three person: Rs500

(b) Seating capacity of more than three persons but not more than six persons-

(i) With engine power not exceeding 1000CC: Rs1,500 per annum

(ii) With engine power exceeding 1000cc but not exceeding 1300cc: Rs2000 per annum

(iii) With engine power exceeding 1300cc but not exceeding 1600cc: Rs4000 per annum

(iv) With engine power exceeding 1600cc but not exceeding 2000cc: Rs4500 per annum

(v) With engine power exceeding 2000cc but not exceeding 2500cc: Rs5000 per annum

(vi) With engine power exceeding 2500cc: Rs7000 per annum.

Provided that the tax in respect of the motor vehicle referred to in clauses (a) and (b) other than the commercial vehicles shall, on completion of ten years and fifteen years of the payment of the tax since first registration of the vehicles, be paid at the rate of seventy five percent and fifty percent of the tax respectively.

6. (i) tractor without trailer: Rs200

(ii) if trailer is attached with tractor: Rs300

July 16, 2019
Rupee falls to Rs160.91 to dollar in interbank early trade

KARACHI: The Pak Rupee deteriorated by another Rs1.04 in early trade on Tuesday ahead of monetary policy announcement and pressure of import and corporate payments.

The dollar is being traded at Rs160.91 in interbank foreign exchange market. The rupee closed yesterday at Rs159.87 to the dollar in foreign currency market.

Currency experts said that due to rescheduled payment against foreign debt the demand for greenback was high.

They further said that as rupee was also under pressure because by fiscal year end many multinational and foreign companies repatriated their profits.

The local currency was remained under pressure for the last over one week due to weak economic indicators.

The experts said that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is scheduled to announce monetary policy for next two months today.

The analysts believe that the central bank may further increase key policy rate by 100 basis points to 13.25 percent as present policy rate of 12.25 percent.

However, some relief was seen in easing trade deficit and decline of import bill by around 9 percent.

The experts said that the policy to curb luxury and non-essential imports would help the local currency to show resilience against dollar.

July 16, 2019
FBR reshuffles BS-16 officials in Customs intelligence and investigation

ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on July 15, 2019 notified transfers and postings of following BS-16 officials of Customs Department with immediate effect and until further orders.

01. Fareed-ud-Din Masood, Superintendent from Directorate of Intelligence & Investigation-Customs, Hyderabad to Model Customs Collectorate (MCC) Hyderabad.

02. Muhammad Akhtar, Intelligence Officer from Dte. of Intelligence & Investigation-Customs, Peshawar to MCC, Preventive, Peshawar.

03. Jawad Sultan, Intelligence Officer from Dte. of Intelligence & Investigation-Customs, Peshawar to MCC, Preventive, Peshawar.

04. Muhammad Yousaf, Intelligence Officer from Dte. of Intelligence & Investigation-Customs, Peshawar to MCC, Preventive, Peshawar.

05. Mir Sahib, Intelligence Officer from Dte. of Intelligence & Investigation-Customs, Peshawar to MCC, Appraisement, Peshawar.

06. Yaqoob Shah, Inspector from Dte. of Intelligence & Investigation-Customs, Peshawar to MCC, Appraisement, Peshawar

07. Habib Ullah, Inspector Dte. of Intelligence & Investigation-Customs, Peshawar to MCC, Appraisement, Peshawar.

08. Sohail Khan, Inspector from MCC, Preventive, Peshawar to Dte. of Intelligence & Investigation-Customs, Peshawar.

09.Syed Nasir Ali Shah, Inspector from MCC, Preventive, Peshawar to Dte. of Intelligence & Investigation-Customs, Peshawar.

10. Said Zaman, Inspector from MCC, Preventive, Peshawar to Dte. of Intelligence & Investigation-Customs, Peshawar.

11. Muhammad Chan Zeb, Inspector from MCC, Appraisement, Peshawar to Dte. of Intelligence & Investigation-Customs, Peshawar.

12. Muhammad Imtiaz Baig, Inspector from MCC, Appraisement, Peshawar to Dte. of Intelligence & Investigation-Customs, Peshawar.

13. Abdul Waheed, Inspector from MCC, Appraisement, Peshawar to Dte. of Intelligence & Investigation-Customs, Peshawar.

14. Mujeeb Akber Jalbani, Intelligence Officer from Dte. of Intelligence & Investigation-Customs, Hyderabad to MCC, Hyderabad.

15. Nadeem Hussain Isran, Intelligence Officer from Dte. of Intelligence & Investigation-Customs, Hyderabad to MCC, Hyderabad.

16. Shah Muhammad, Inspector from MCC, Hyderabad to Dte. of Intelligence & Investigation-Customs, Hyderabad.

17. Iftikhar Ahmad, Intelligence Officer from Dte. of Intelligence & Investigation-Customs, Lahore to MCC, Appraisement, Lahore.

18. Zulfiqar Ali, Intelligence Officer from Dte. of Intelligence & Investigation-Customs, Lahore to MCC, Appraisement, Lahore.

19. Muhammad Ali, Intelligence Officer from Dte. of Intelligence & Investigation-Customs, Lahore to MCC, Appraisement, Lahore.

20. Muhammad Sohail Iqbal, Intelligence Officer from Dte. of Intelligence & Investigation-Customs, Lahore to MCC, Appraisement, Lahore.

21. Abid Iqbal, Inspector from Dte. of Intelligence & Investigation-Customs, Lahore to MCC, Appraisement, Lahore.

22. Agha Nasim Ullah, Intelligence Officer from Dte. of Intelligence & Investigation-Customs, Lahore to MCC, Appraisement, Lahore.

23. Hamid Babar, Inspector from Dte. of Intelligence & Investigation-Customs, Lahore to MCC, Appraisement, Lahore.

24. Nadeem Ahsan, Inspector from Dte. of Intelligence & Investigation-Customs, Lahore to MCC, Preventive, Lahore.

25. Saeed Iqbal, Intelligence Officer from Dte. of Intelligence & Investigation-Customs, Lahore to MCC, Preventive, Lahore.

26. Sohail Murtaza, Inspector from Dte. of Intelligence & Investigation-Customs, Lahore to MCC, Preventive, Lahore.

27. Agha Sultan Haider, Intelligence Officer from Dte. of Intelligence & Investigation-Customs, Lahore to MCC, Preventive, Lahore.

28. Abdul Hameed Bhatti, Intelligence Officer from Dte. of Intelligence & Investigation-Customs, Lahore to MCC, Preventive, Lahore.

29. Bashir Tabassum, Intelligence Officer from Dte. of Intelligence & Investigation-Customs, Quetta to MCC, Preventive, Quetta.

30. Muhammad Shabbir Khan, Inspector from MCC, Preventive, Quetta to Dte. of Intelligence & Investigation-Customs, Quetta.

31. Ali Raza Bhatti, Inspector from MCC, Appraisement, Lahore to Dte. of Intelligence & Investigation-Customs, Lahore.

32. Noman Ashraf, Inspector from MCC, Appraisement, Lahore to Dte. of Intelligence & Investigation-Customs, Lahore.

33. M. Akmal Shahzad, Inspector from MCC, Appraisement, Lahore to Dte. of Intelligence & Investigation-Customs, Lahore.

34. Salman Ahmed, Inspector from MCC, Appraisement, Lahore to Dte. of Intelligence & Investigation-Customs, Lahore.

35. Muhammad Ali, Inspector from MCC, Appraisement, Lahore to Dte. of Intelligence & Investigation-Customs, Lahore.

36. Fazal Mehmood Jahangir, Inspector from MCC, Appraisement, Lahore to Dte. of Intelligence & Investigation-Customs, Lahore.

37. Muhammad Naeem, Inspector from MCC, Appraisement, Lahore to Dte. of Intelligence & Investigation-Customs, Lahore.

38. Syed Tanveer Hussain Shah, Inspector from MCC, Preventive, Lahore to Dte. of Intelligence & Investigation-Customs, Lahore.

39. Muhammad Yasin, Inspector from MCC, Preventive, Lahore to Dte. of Intelligence & Investigation-Customs, Lahore.

40. Allah Ditta, Inspector from MCC, Preventive, Lahore to Dte. of Intelligence & Investigation-Customs, Lahore.

41. Younas Qadri, Inspector from MCC, Preventive, Lahore to Dte. of Intelligence & Investigation-Customs, Lahore.

42. Muhammad Aslam Ch, Inspector from MCC, Preventive, Lahore to Dte. of Intelligence & Investigation-Customs, Lahore.

The FBR said that the Officers who are drawing performance allowance prior to issuance of this notification shall continue to draw the allowance on their new place of posting.

July 16, 2019
FBR seeks power companies help for mandatory registration of businesses

ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has sought help of ministry of power for invoking Section 181AA of Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 whereby it is mandatory for a businessman to get registered and file income tax return while requesting industrial or commercial connection.

Chairman Federal Board of Revenue Syed Muhammad Shabbar Zaidi in his letter to Ministry of Power has sought its help for the implementation of Section 181AA of Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 which specifically stipulates that any application for commercial or industrial connection of electricity or gas shall not be processed and such connection shall not be provided unless the person applying for electricity or gas connection is registered under the said Section which pertains to filing of income tax returns.

Chairman FBR has further added that FBR has extended the date of filing the return of income for the year 2018 to August 2, 2019 to facilitate filing of return by all persons who were required to file the return of income but have not filed so far. Chairman FBR has requested Ministry of Power to issue instructions to Power Distribution Companies to apprise them that it is mandatory to be on ‘Active Taxpayers List (ATL)’ for every commercial and industrial electricity or gas consumer.

Chairman FBR appreciated the cooperation of Ministry of Power for providing the data of industrial and commercial users of electricity and hoped that Ministry of Power would also help in the implementation of Section 181AA of Income Tax Ordinance through the involvement of respective ‘Distribution Companies’.

Related Posts

FBR grants general relaxation to file tax year 2018 income returns up to August 02

July 16, 2019
FBR notifies transfers of BS-17 to BS-20 IRS officers

ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Monday notified transfers and postings of BS-17 to BS-20 officers of Inland Revenue Service (IRS) with immediate effect and until further orders.

The FBR notified transfers and postings of following officers:

01. Abid Mehmood (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) has been transferred and posted as Director, Directorate of Intelligence & Investigation (Inland Revenue), Peshawar from the post of Commissioner, (Peshawar Zone) Regional Tax Office, Peshawar, according to notification received to Pakistan Revenue.

02. Muhammad Tariq Arbab (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) has been transferred and posted as Commissioner Inland Revenue (Peshawar Zone) Regional Tax Office, Peshawar from the post of Director, Directorate of Intelligence & Investigation (Inland Revenue), Peshawar.

03. Asem Iftikhar (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) has been transferred and posted as Director, Directorate of Intelligence & Investigation (Inland Revenue), Karachi from the post of Chief, Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad.

04. Abdul Rehman Bullo (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) has been transferred and posted as Commissioner Inland Revenue (Zone-II) Large Taxpayers Unit-II, Karachi from the post of Director, Directorate of Intelligence & Investigation (Inland Revenue), Karachi.

05. Ahmad Kamal (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) has been transferred and posted as Director, Directorate of Intelligence & Investigation (Inland Revenue), Lahore from the post of Commissioner, Inland Revenue (Appeals-III), Lahore.

06. Muhammad Naveed Akhtar (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) has been transferred and posted as Commissioner Inland Revenue Inland Revenue (Appeals-III), Lahore from the post of Director, Directorate of Intelligence & Investigation (Inland Revenue), Lahore.

07. Pir Khalid Ahmed Qureshi (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) has been transferred and posted as Director, Directorate of Intelligence & Investigation (Inland Revenue), Hyderabad from the post of Additional Commissioner, Regional Tax Office, Hyderabad.

08. Pervez Ahmad Shar (Inland Revenue Service/BS-19) has been transferred and posted as Additional Commissioner Inland Revenue Regional Tax Office, Hyderabad from the post of Additional Director, Directorate of Intelligence & Investigation (Inland Revenue), Hyderabad.

09. Ms. Fakhryia Anjum (Inland Revenue Service/BS-19) has been transferred and posted as Additional Commissioner Inland Revenue Regional Tax Office, Peshawar from the post of Additional Director, Directorate of Intelligence & Investigation (Inland Revenue), Peshawar.

10. Abdul Rehman Khilji (Inland Revenue Service/BS-19) has been transferred and posted as Additional Commissioner Inland Revenue Regional Tax Office II, Karachi from the post of Additional Director, Directorate of Intelligence & Investigation (Inland Revenue), Karachi.

11. Hameed-ur-Rehman (Inland Revenue Service/BS-19) has been transferred and posted as Additional Director, Directorate of Intelligence & Investigation (Inland Revenue), Peshawar from the post of Additional Commissioner, Regional Tax Office, Peshawar.

12. Muhammad Amin Qureshi (Inland Revenue Service/BS-19) has been transferred and posted as Additional Director, Directorate of Intelligence & Investigation (Inland Revenue), Karachi from the post of Additional Commissioner, Corporate Regional Tax Office, Karachi.

13. Ajmal Khan (Inland Revenue Service/BS-19) has been transferred and posted as Additional Commissioner Inland Revenue Regional Tax Office, Peshawar from the post of Additional Director, Directorate of Intelligence & Investigation (Inland Revenue), Peshawar.

14. Saad Waqas (Inland Revenue Service/BS-19) has been transferred and posted as Additional Director, Directorate General of Training & Research (Inland Revenue), Lahore from the post of Additional Director, (IR) Directorate of Intelligence & Investigation (Inland Revenue), Lahore.

15. Qaiser Naeem (AOST/BS-18) has been transferred and posted as Assistant Director (Audit), Regional Tax Office, Faisalabad from the post of Assistant Director (Audit), Directorate of Intelligence & Investigation (Inland Revenue), Faisalabad.

16. Sami Ullah Khan (Inland Revenue Service/BS-18) has been transferred and posted as Deputy Commissioner Inland Revenue Regional Tax Office, Peshawar from the post of Deputy Director, (IR) Directorate of Intelligence & Investigation (Inland Revenue), Peshawar.

17. Imran Zafar (Inland Revenue Service/BS-18) has been transferred and posted as Deputy Director, Directorate of Intelligence & Investigation (Inland Revenue), Faisalabad from the post of Deputy Commissioner, Regional Tax Office, Faisalabad.

18. Arshad Ahmed Khan (SAST/BS-18) has been transferred and posted as Assistant Director (Audit), Regional Tax Office II, Karachi from the post of Assistant Director (Audit), Directorate of Intelligence & Investigation (Inland Revenue), Karachi.

19. Ms. Sarwat Malik Habib (Inland Revenue Service/BS-18) has been transferred and posted as Deputy Commissioner Inland Revenue Regional Tax Office, Islamabad from the post of Deputy Director, Directorate General of Intelligence & Investigation (Inland Revenue), Islamabad.

20. Muhammad Tariq Aziz (Inland Revenue Service/BS-18) has been transferred and posted as Deputy Commissioner Inland Revenue Regional Tax Office, Islamabad from the post of Deputy Director, (IR) Directorate General of Intelligence & Investigation (Inland Revenue), Islamabad.

21. Masood Alam (SAST/BS-18) has been transferred and posted as Assistant Director (Audit), Regional Tax Office II, Karachi from the post of Assistant Director (Audit), Directorate of Intelligence & Investigation (Inland Revenue), Karachi.

22. Nadeem Ashraf Baig (SAST/BS-18) has been transferred and posted as Assistant Director (Audit), Regional Tax Office III, Karachi from the post of Assistant Director (Audit), Directorate of Intelligence & Investigation (Inland Revenue), Karachi.

23. Hafiz Muhammad Azam Nafis (SAST/BS-18) has been transferred and posted as Assistant Director (Audit), Regional Tax Office III, Karachi from the post of Assistant Director (Audit), Directorate of Intelligence & Investigation (Inland Revenue), Karachi.

24. Muhammad Rashid Chundrigar (SAST/BS-18) has been transferred and posted as Assistant Director (Audit), Regional Tax Office III, Karachi from the post of Assistant Director (Audit), Directorate of Intelligence & Investigation (Inland Revenue), Karachi.

25. Zahoor Ahmad (Inland Revenue Service/BS-17) has been transferred and posted as Deputy Director, Directorate of Intelligence & Investigation (Inland Revenue), Lahore from the post of Deputy Commissioner, Regional Tax Office II, Lahore.

Through another notification the following IR officers have been transferred and posted:

01. Munir Sadiq (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) has been transferred and posted as Chief, (Inland Revenue Policy Wing) Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad from the post of Commissioner-IR, (Zone-I) Large Taxpayers Unit, Islamabad.

02. Ms. Reema Masud (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) has been transferred and posted as Chief, (Inland Revenue Policy Wing) Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad from the post of Commissioner-IR, (Corporate Zone) Regional Tax Office, Islamabad.

03. Said Iqbal (Inland Revenue Service/BS-19) has been transferred and posted as Secretary, (Inland Revenue Policy Wing) Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad from the post of Additional Commissioner-IR, Regional Tax Office II, Karachi.

04. Ajaz Hussain (Inland Revenue Service/BS-19) has been transferred and posted as Additional Commissioner Inland Revenue Corporate Regional Tax Office, Karachi from the post of Secretary, (Income Tax Budget) Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad.

05. Abdul Wahid Shar (Inland Revenue Service/BS-19) has been transferred and posted as Secretary, (Inland Revenue Policy Wing) Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad from the post of Additional Commissioner-IR, Large Taxpayers Unit-II, Karachi.

06. Usman Ahmed Khan (Inland Revenue Service/BS-19) has been transferred and posted as Additional Director, Directorate General of Training & Research (Inland Revenue), Lahore from the post of Secretary, (Income Tax Clarification) Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad.

07. Maheen Hassan (Inland Revenue Service/BS-18) has been transferred and posted as Second Secretary, (Inland Revenue Policy Wing) Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad from the post of Deputy Commissioner-IR, Regional Tax Office, Quetta.

08. Muhammad Adil Khan (Inland Revenue Service/BS-18) has been transferred and posted as Second Secretary, (Inland Revenue Policy Wing) Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad from the post of Second Secretary, (Lit-HC) Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad.

09. Muhammad Nauman Anees (Inland Revenue Service/BS-17) has been transferred and posted as Second Secretary, (Inland Revenue Policy Wing) Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad from the post of Deputy Commissioner-IR, Large Taxpayers Unit, Lahore.

The FBR said that the officers who are drawing performance allowance prior to issuance of this notification shall continue to draw this allowance on the new place of posting.

July 15, 2019
FBR allows goods clearance without retail price print till July 31

ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Monday allowed to clear consignments of consumer items without printing of retail prices till July 31, 2019 in order to facilitate clearance of stuck up containers.

The Board’s vide letter No. 1/2-STB/2019/87779-R, dated 4.7.2019, had directed that imported Third Schedule items be allowed clearance after affixation of stickers printed with retail price till 31st July, 2019.

The Board has received several representations that the requirement of printing retail price on imported Third Schedule items has been introduced through the Finance Act, 2019 and the importers did not have sufficient notice of the change, therefore, a large number of consignments of such items are arriving without printed retail price, and that that de-stuffing of containers to affix stickers in the aforesaid manner is not practical and the same would cause blockage of imports and congestion at the ports.

Accordingly, in order to resolve the issue, the Board is pleased to allow clearance of imported Third Schedule items without printing of retail price or affixing stickers for which goods declaration are filed by July 31, 2019 subject to the condition that the importer declares retail price for each of the imported items in terms of section 2(27) of the Sales Tax Act, 1990, and that the goods are assessed for sales tax on such declared retail price.

July 15, 2019
Fiscal deficit deteriorates on slowdown in tax collection: SBP

KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday said that the fiscal deficit was ballooned owing to slowdown in tax revenue collection and fall in non-tax revenue.

In its third quarterly report on Pakistan Economy, the SBP said that the fiscal deficit deteriorated further, as a steep fall in non-tax revenues and a slowdown in tax revenue led the overall revenue collection to stagnate at last year’s level. On the other hand, expenditure increased sharply during July-March FY19, specifically the current expenditure that more than offset the decline in the development expenditure.

While Pakistan’s economy moved along the stabilization phase led by demand management policies, vulnerabilities in the external and fiscal sectors persisted during Jul-Mar FY19.

This implies that the current stabilization agenda needs to be reinforced with deep rooted structural reforms.

The pace of economic growth slowed down considerably during FY19, mainly in response to policy measures taken to curb the twin deficits.

These measures affected the performance of the industrial sector and dampened manufacturing activities in the country.

Meanwhile, water- and weather-related concerns, in tandem with the higher cost of major inputs, took a toll on crop production. The weak showing by the commodity-producing sectors also constrained the output of the services sector.

According to the report, inflation stubbornly kept an upward trajectory. Despite several rounds of policy rate hike since January 2018, the average CPI inflation during Jul-Mar FY19 exceeded the full year target.

Although demand-pull pressures lessened in intensity towards the end of FY19, the Non-Food Non-Energy component continued to climb due to second round impact of exchange rate deprecation and increase in energy prices.

On the external front, the current account deficit (CAD) declined on the back of lower import payments for both goods and services, and a decent growth in workers’ remittances.

However, given the elevated level of CAD and insufficient foreign investments to fill the financing gap, the country had to resort to bilateral and commercial sources for external financing.
The report features a special section on power tariffs in Pakistan. The analysis explains the process of power tariff determination in the country and assesses why tariffs have not softened despite the decline in fuel cost. It suggests that capacity payments constitute the bulk of power tariffs in Pakistan, and a sharp increase in these payments in recent years has completely offset gains from declining fuel cost.

The report also contains another special section on the outlook of food security in Pakistan. The analysis emphasizes the related challenges that the country may face going forward, such as a high population growth and unfavorable water and climatic conditions, unless remedial measures are taken urgently.

July 15, 2019