Pkrevenue.com

Author: Faisal Shahnawaz

  • Stocks up 263 points amid optimism on IMF decision

    Stocks up 263 points amid optimism on IMF decision

    KARACHI: The stocks gained 263 points on Friday as investors optimistic about IMF’s executive board meeting on January 12, 2022.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 45,345 points as against 45,082 points, showing an increase of 263 points.

    READ MORE: IMF Board to approve $1.059bn by Jan 12, 2022: Tarin

    Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the index closed in the green zone today as investors became optimistic about IMF’s Executive Board meeting on January 12.

    Profit taking was witnessed in the first trading hour as coronavirus positivity ratio exceeded 2 per cent in a single day for the first time since October 14 last year.

    READ MORE: IMF outlines actions for Pakistan to release $1.059bn

    Fertilizer sector remained in the limelight due to expectation of price hike of urea in the market. Cement sector remained under pressure due to the uptick in international coal prices. Activity continued to remain side-ways as market witnessed hefty volumes in the 3rd tier stocks.

    Sectors contributing to the performance include Banks (+108 points), Fertilizer (+98 points), Power (+46 points), E&P (36 points) and Engineering (+11 points).

    READ MORE: IMF intervention to add economic miseries of Pakistan

    Volumes decreased from 345.2 million shares to 242.3 million shares (-29.8 per cent DoD). Traded value also decreased by 40.1 per cent to reach US$ 44.9 million as against US$ 74.9 million.

    Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include TELE, WTL, TRG, UNITYR3 and SILK.

    READ MORE: KSE-100 index sheds 326 points on rising Omicron cases

  • SBP issues KIBOR rates on January 07, 2022

    SBP issues KIBOR rates on January 07, 2022

    KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday issued the Karachi Interbank Offered Rates (KIBOR) as of January 07, 2022.

    Following are the latest KIBOR rates:

     TenorBIDOFFER
    1 – Week9.7710.27
    2 – Week9.8110.31
    1 – Month9.8910.39
    3 – Month10.2910.54
    6 – Month11.2611.51
    9 – Month11.2911.79
    1 – Year11.3311.83
    SBP issues KIBOR rates on January 06, 2022
  • Tarin warns tax evaders of strict actions

    Tarin warns tax evaders of strict actions

    ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin on Friday warned tax evaders and potential taxpayers to pay their liabilities before harsh actions initiated against them.

    At the launching of National Sales Tax Return, by Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), he asked the unregistered potential taxpayers to initiate paying taxes before the government reaches them within a couple of months with documentary evidence of their assets.

    “I assure the nation that change is taking place, we are making use of technology and will reach all potential taxpayers.

    Tarin said that with the help of technology, the government would reach to all those persons who have taxable assets but were not paying taxes  adding that there was now no need to issues notices as the government was already possessing date of millions of taxpayers.

    He said, the authorities would reach the tax-avoiders and provide them the tax returns with an opportunity to prove it wrong by consulting panel of auditors or pay the due taxes.

    “We will not harass, we will tell them what they possess. If they don’t pay, then the law would take its own course,” he added.

    Meanwhile, the minister congratulated federal and provincial revenue divisions for coming on a single platform and making payment of revenues easy for taxpayers.

    He said, since sales tax on goods was federal domain and sales tax on services was coming under provinces, hence it was creating hardships for taxpayers.

    Now, under the single platform, the taxpayers would be facilitated, adding that in previous system, if a company was operating in all the provinces, it had to deal with around seven agencies for filing returns, with chances of errors. However, now they would be required to file single tax under the new system.

    He said that the government was also working on further harmonization of system to facilitate taxpayers and expressed the hope that ease in tax deposit system would help enhance revenues.

    The minister said that three was no other way, if the country had to progress and prosper, there is need to enhance revenue collection. He cited example of Germany where he said there was no representation without taxation.

    He lamented that there were only 3 million taxpayers out of 220 million population in the country.

    He said, out of around Rs18 trillion retail sales, only Rs3 to Rs4 trillion were captured and Rs14 million sales are still missing from the tax system.

    Tax exemptions worth Rs343 billion withdrawn through mini-budget
  • SBP’s instructions on pensioners biometric verification

    SBP’s instructions on pensioners biometric verification

    KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday issued instructions regarding biometric verification of pensioners.

    Prior to these instructions the SBP issued BC&CPD Circular Letter No. 01 dated February 01, 2021 and File Letter No. BC&CPD/O&SSD/BVS/5873 dated May 27, 2021 on the subject.

    The Finance Division issued a letter on December 08, 2021 on the subject of Biometric Verification Service, contents of which are self-explanatory, the central bank said.

    The said instructions of bio metric verification service are for pensioners drawing pension from AGPR Islamabad. All banks are advised to comply with the instructions contained therein.

    Further, all banks are advised to ensure widespread publicity of the above initiative through branches and other means for awareness of the pensioners.

    Mandatory biometric verification restored for pensioners
  • SBP continues banking relaxations amid rising COVID cases

    SBP continues banking relaxations amid rising COVID cases

    KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday extended the banking relaxation till June 30, 2022 due to rise in cases of coronavirus – COVID-19.

    Through BPRD Circular Letter 19 of 2021, various relaxations were provided to the regulated entities for easing of the challenges faced by them and their account holders due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the SBP said.

    Considering the on-going impact of COVID-19 pandemic, the central bank decided to further extend the validity of following regulatory relaxations till June 30, 2022.

    i. Banks/ MFBs may utilize NADRA Verisys in place of biometric verification, where the same is not possible or appropriate due to risk of COVID-19 spread, while complying with controls and measures stipulated in BPRD Circular Letter 9 of 2020, ACMFD Circular Letter 3 of 2020 and BPRD Circular Letter 19 of 2021.

    ii. Banks/ MFBs shall continue with enhanced transaction limit of Rs. 500,000 per month and maximum account balance of Rs. 500,000 for non-biometrically verified merchant accounts.

    iii. Authorized Financial Institutions (AFIs) shall not downgrade non-biometrically verified Branchless Banking (BB) legacy Level-1 accounts to Level-0.

    However, unless instructed otherwise, the above mentioned relaxations will automatically stand withdrawn upon expiry of the extended timeline of June 30, 2022.

    Thereafter, banks/ MFBs shall follow the applicable regulatory instructions in the related areas. Meanwhile, banks/ MFBs are advised to take appropriate measures and steps to ensure smooth transition to normal operations without COVID-19 related regulatory forbearance.

    Moreover, AFIs may continue to provide Person-to-Person (P2P) transfers through BB channel as stipulated under Branchless Banking Regulations for Financial Institutions (Para 4.4) till June 30, 2022. However, the same shall be ceased immediately upon expiry of the extended timeline. AFIs are advised to take necessary measures, such as creating customer awareness, making adjustments in their business model and infrastructure accordingly.

    Notwithstanding the above, banks/ DFIs/ MFBs shall immediately revert back to the applicable instructions on the following:

    i. Blocking accounts without valid Identity Documents after serving one month prior notice as stipulated in the AML/ CFT / CPF Regulations (Regulation-2, Para 23).

    ii. Marking accounts as dormant/ in-operative as defined in the AML/ CFT/ CPF Regulations (Definition 25).

    iii. Conducting biometric verification for all cash in or cash out transactions in BB Level-0 accounts as stipulated in Branchless Banking Regulations for Financial Institutions (Para 4.3).

    iv. Conducting staff visits to newly acquired agents as stipulated in the Framework for Branchless Banking Agent Acquisition and Management (Para 9.10 (c) (1)). For the agents acquired during the COVID-19 period, for whom visits have not yet been conducted, AFIs shall perform the same by March 31, 2022, positively.

    The revised instructions shall be applicable with effect from January 01, 2022.

    SBP shortens period to 120 days for bringing export earnings
  • Dollar falls by 25 paisas to Rs176.67 in interbank

    Dollar falls by 25 paisas to Rs176.67 in interbank

    KARACHI: The US dollar fell by 25 paisas to end Rs176.67 to the dollar in the interbank foreign exchange market on Friday.

    The Pak Rupee (PKR) closed at Rs176.67 to the dollar from last day’s closing of Rs176.92 in the interbank foreign exchange market.

    Currency experts said that banks had provided sufficient dollars during the day which supported the rupee value. They said that the banks had received the foreign currency under the head of export receipts and workers’ remittances.

    The experts said that the market witnessed demand for dollar for week-end import payments. They said that the market would close next two days due to weekly holidays.

    The rupee recovered sharply during the last two days of the year 2021 and closed the year at Rs176.51 from the lowest level of Rs178.24 to the dollar on December 29, 2021.

    The experts said that ease in import bill in month on month basis also supported the local unit to make recovery. The import bill eased to $6.9 billion in December 2021 as compared with $7.9 billion in November 2021.

    Rupee depreciates by 18 paisas against dollar
  • Customers’ exchange rates on January 07, 2022

    Customers’ exchange rates on January 07, 2022

    Karachi, Pakistan – On Friday, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) unveiled the official exchange rates for January 07, 2022, providing customers with essential information based on the weighted average rates of commercial banks.

    (more…)
  • FIA probes Binance in mega crypto scam

    FIA probes Binance in mega crypto scam

    KARACHI – The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has summoned representatives of Binance, a leading international buy/sell platform for cryptocurrencies, as part of an investigation into a scam that has left many Pakistanis deprived of billions of rupees.

    (more…)
  • Bitcoin to Pak Rupee on January 07, 2022

    Bitcoin to Pak Rupee on January 07, 2022

    KARACHI: The exchange rate of Bitcoin (BTC) in Pak Rupee (PKR) is Rs7,392,390.86 on January 07, 2022, in the open exchange market. The rate of Bitcoin has been calculated and compared with the rate Rs7,605,975.10 on January 06, 2022.

    The rate of Bitcoin in US Dollar (USD) is $41,814.74 on January 07, 2022 in the open exchange market. The rate of Bitcoin has been calculated and compared with the rate $43,012.24 on January 06, 2022.

    Disclaimer: All data and information is provided for informational purposes only. The data has not been provided for trading purposes or financial, investment, tax, legal, accounting, or other advice. In the case of trading, it is advised to consult your broker or financial representative to verify pricing before executing any trade. The exchange rate does not constitute investment advice. Further, it is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security or financial product.

    Bitcoin to Pak Rupee on January 06, 2022
  • Ripple to Pak Rupee on January 07, 2022

    Ripple to Pak Rupee on January 07, 2022

    KARACHI: The exchange rate of Ripple (XRP) in Pak Rupee (PKR) is Rs131.82 on January 07, 2022, in the open exchange market. The rate of Ripple has been calculated and compared with the rate Rs134.04 on January 06, 2022.

    The rate of Ripple in US Dollar (USD) is $0.75 on January 07, 2022, in the open exchange market. The rate of Ripple has been calculated and compared with the rate of $0.76 on January 06, 2022.

    Disclaimer: All data and information are provided for informational purposes only. The data has not been provided for trading purposes or financial, investment, tax, legal, accounting, or other advice. In the case of trading, it is advised to consult your broker or financial representative to verify pricing before executing any trade. The exchange rate does not constitute investment advice. Further, it is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security or financial product.

    Ripple to Pak Rupee on January 06, 2022