Pkrevenue.com

Author: Faisal Shahnawaz

  • SBP issues draft procedures for payment of duty, taxes under Tax Amnesty Scheme 2019

    SBP issues draft procedures for payment of duty, taxes under Tax Amnesty Scheme 2019

    KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Friday issued draft procedure for payment of duty and taxes against declaration made to avail amnesty scheme.

    According to draft text made available to PkRevenue.com, the SBP said that in pursuance of the section 9 of the Asset Declaration Ordinance, 2019 (hereinafter referred to as the “Ordinance”), State Bank of Pakistan (hereinafter abbreviated as SBP) is pleased to notify the procedure for:

    a) Method of conversion of value of assets held outside Pakistan in Pak Rupees.

    b) Deposit of tax in foreign currency through State Bank of Pakistan; and

    c) Repatriation of assets to Pakistan.

    2. Short title and commencement:

    i. The Procedure may be called Procedure under section (9) of the Asset Declaration Ordinance, 2019; and

    ii. It shall be deemed to have come into force from XXth day of May 2019.

    3. Method of Conversion of Value of Foreign Currency Denominated Assets in Pak Rupees:

    i. The asset held outside Pakistan and foreign currency held in Pakistan shall be converted into PKR at such exchange rates1 as may be notified on daily basis by the SBP to Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) in respect of ten currencies i.e. AED, AUD, CAD, CHF, CNY, EUR, GBP, JPY, SAR, and USD.

    ii. If the foreign currency denominated assets are in currencies other than those specified in clause 3(i), the taxpayer shall convert the said currency into PKR by using the following formula:

    The arithmetic mean of Weighted Average Customer Exchange Rates (Buying & Selling)

    Amount of assets in PKR = A x B x D / C where,

    A = Amount of asset in currency other than currencies listed in 3(i) held outside Pakistan;

    B = Number of USD per SDR to be taken from IMF website2;

    C = Number of currency units in a currency other than those listed in 3(i)) per SDR3; and

    D = Exchange Rate of USD with PKR as notified by the SBP under clause 3(i) for the applicable.

    Illustration: The taxpayer has assets in Singapore Dollar amounting to 1,000 and files the declaration on May 16, 2019.

    The rates from the IMF Website of preceding working day would be available and applicable for conversion.

    Hence, the parities of USD, Singapore Dollar with SDR as of May 15, 2019 are 1.382330 and 1.891160 respectively.

    Amount of asset in PKR = 1,000 ∗

    1.382330∗141.34451.891160 = PKR. 102,881.94

    4. Registration and Declaration of Assets and Deposit of Tax Thereon:

    i. The taxpayer shall file his/her declaration on FBR Web Portal electronically by disclosing their assets held outside Pakistan, and foreign currency held in Pakistan, in PKR as converted under clause 3.

    ii. The system will generate tax liability of the taxpayer in PKR by applying the relevant tax rate for each category of disclosed assets. The taxpayer has the option of discharging his/her liability either in USD or AED. After selection of tax payment currency, the system will compute the tax liability in PKR and USD/AED.

    iii. The taxpayer will now visit the website: https://paysys.fbr.gov.pk to generate the PSID in PKR and USD/ AED. The sequential number of PSID will be

    2 Special Drawing Rights (SDR) rates (Currency Units per SDR) accessible from https://www.imf.org/external/np/fin/data/param_rms_mth.aspx

    3 Special Drawing Rights (SDR) rates (Currency Units per SDR) accessible from https://www.imf.org/external/np/fin/data/param_rms_mth.aspx recorded by the taxpayer in his/her own record, besides taking the print thereof.

    5. Payment of tax by wire transfer to SBP Account:

    a. Payment of tax in US Dollars:

    i. After declaration of assets and generation of PSID as described in Para ‘4’ above, the tax liability as reflected in the PSID shall be remitted by wire transfer to the following account:

    Receiver’s Correspondent Bank: NATIONAL BANK OF PAKISTAN

    Receiving Bank Address: NEW YORK, U.S.A

    Receiving Bank SWIFT Code: NBPAUS33

    Beneficiary Customer Name: NATIONAL BANK OF PAKISTAN

    Beneficiary Customer Address: I.I. CHUNDRIGAR ROAD, KARACHI, PAKISTAN

    Beneficiary Customer’s SWIFT Code: NBPAPKKAXXX

    Beneficiary Customer’s Account No: XXXXXXXX (to be provided by NBP)

    Payment Instructions: TRANSFER TO SBP COLLECTION A/C WITH NBP-KO

    Taxpayer shall in the SWIFT message, bearing the necessary instructions above shall also include PSID No, CNIC, Date of Birth (DOB), and Place of Birth (POB) of the taxpayer.

    ii. After receiving the money, the correspondent Bank will pass on the funds to the NBP-Karachi account maintained with them for collections of the scheme and inform NBP Karachi through SWIFT message.

    iii. NBP-Karachi shall, after verifying receipt of the money in its account and necessary screening, access the FBR Portal and enter the PSID from SWIFT message in the system to access his/her details.

    Thereafter, the concerned officer shall input the amount so received in the designated field. The system will match the amount received with the amount of PSID; eCPR will be generated if the amount received matches with the PSID amount.

    In case of short payment, the system will generate SMS/ email for the taxpayers regarding the short payment. The short payment of up to USD. 100 can be deposited in cash with the designated NBP branches in major cities.

    In order to avoid the hassle; the taxpayers should make sure that the amount received in the SBP account with NBP net of correspondent and other bank charges, is equal to or greater than the amount of PSID. The excess amount, if any, shall be credited to a temporary account to be closed after the culmination of the scheme.

    iv. NBP – Karachi shall settle the foreign currency proceeds of the issued eCPRs into the Nostro account of SBP with NBP New York on a T+1 basis.

    v. NBP- Karachi shall render summary of settlement of eCPRs in respect of which the settlement has been made in SBP Nostro Account. The summary inter-alia shall include the PKR equivalent of amount of liability as per PSID along with its equivalent in foreign currency.

    vi. SBP shall credit the government account with the amount of PKR as accumulated through PSIDs and consequential exchange rate differential shall be on SBP account.

    b. Payment of tax in UAE Dirham:

    i. After declaration of assets and generation of PSID as described in Para ‘5’ above, the taxpayer shall arrange to remit the AED funds against the tax liability as reflected in the PSID and Form ‘A’ to SBP through official normal banking channels in the following SBP account:

    Receiver’s Correspondent Bank: UNITED BANK LIMITED

    Receiving Bank Address: ABU DHABI, UAE

    Receiving Bank SWIFT Code: UNILAEAD

    Beneficiary Customer Name: NATIONAL BANK OF PAKISTAN

    Beneficiary Customer Address: I.I. CHUNDRIGAR ROAD, KARACHI, PAKISTAN

    Beneficiary Customer’s SWIFT Code: NBPAPKKAXXX

    Beneficiary Customer’s Account No: XXXXXXXX (to be provided by NBP)

    Payment Instructions: TRANSFER TO SBP COLLECTION A/C WITH NBP-KO

    Taxpayer shall in the wire transfer, or SWIFT message, bearing the necessary instructions shall also include PSID No, CNIC, Date of Birth (DOB), and Place of Birth (POB) of the taxpayer.

    ii. After receiving the money, the correspondent bank will pass on the funds to the NBP-Karachi account maintained with them for collections of the scheme and inform NBP Karachi through SWIFT message

    iii. NBP-Karachi shall, after verifying receipt of the money in its account, access the FBR Portal and enter the PSID no from SWIFT message in the system to access his/her details.

    Thereafter, the concerned officer shall input the amount so received in a designated field. The system will match the amount received with the amount of PSID; eCPR will be generated if the amount received matches with the PSID amount.

    In case of short payment, the system will generate SMS/ email to the taxpayers regarding the short payment. The short payment of equivalent to up to USD 100 can be deposited in cash with the designated NBP branches in major cities.

    In order to avoid the hassle; the taxpayers should make sure that the amount received in the SBP account with NBP net of correspondent and other bank charges, is equal to or greater than the amount of PSID.

    The excess amount, if any, shall be credited to a temporary account to be closed after the culmination of the scheme.

    iv. NBP – Karachi shall settle the foreign proceeds into the Nostro account of SBP with UBL – Abu Dhabi on a T+1 basis.

    v. NBP- Karachi shall render a summary of settlement of eCPRs in respect of which the settlement has been made in SBP Nostro Account. The summary inter-alia shall include the PKR equivalent of amount of liability as per PSID along with its equivalent in foreign currency.

    vi. SBP shall credit the government account with the amount of PKR as accumulated through PSIDs and consequential exchange rate differential shall be on SBP account.

    6. Payment of Tax of Foreign Currency Held in Pakistan:

    i. The following assets shall be included in the foreign currency held in Pakistan:

    • Cash held by the declarant which is deposited into a bank account in the manner prescribed by the section 8(a) of the assets declaration ordinance 2019;

    • Foreign Currency held in declarants own foreign currency bank account and retained in the said account in accordance with the provisions of Section 8(b) of the assets declaration ordinance 2019; and

    • Face Value of the amount invested in Pakistan Banao Certificates (PBCs).

    ii. The aforesaid assets shall be converted into Pak Rupee in accordance with the procedure given in Clause 3 above. The PKR value so computed shall be declared in Form-A along with Bank Name, Branch name and account number.

    iii. The taxpayer will then generate a PSID in PKR and USD through https://paysys.fbr.gov.pk; the sequential number of which will be recorded by the taxpayer in his/her own record, besides taking the print thereof.

    iv. The payment of such tax shall be made locally through local USD Clearing accounts of the bank maintained with the State Bank of Pakistan for which purpose the taxpayer may request their banker to issue a debit authority in favor of Chief Manager SBPBSC-KO, authorizing to debit the account to the tune of the tax liability. Debit authority must specify the PSID of the taxpayer, so as to enable the generation of eCPR.

    7. Repatriation of Assets to Pakistan:

    i. Taxpayers intending to repatriate their assets held outside Pakistan shall remit the same to Pakistan through banking channels in declarants’ own in PKR of FCY account in any bank in Pakistan.

    ii. The Pakistani bank receiving the repatriated funds shall issue Asset Repatriation Certificate (ARC) which shall include the details such as Name of Remitter, Amount in FCY, and IBAN of taxpayer. Each ARC shall have a unique reference number, which the taxpayer shall use to report the same to FBR.

    iii. The bank shall issue ARC under these rules only in respect of remittances on or after the date of issuance of this procedure.

    iv. The declaration filed by the taxpayer shall be accepted by the Portal only after incorporating the following information on the FBR Portal in respect of repatriated assets:

    a) Number and Date of Issuance of ARC;

    b) Issuing Bank;

    c) Address of the Branch maintaining the account of the taxpayer; and

    d) IBAN of the account in which the repatriated assets are credited.

    v. SBP may either as a part of its regular inspection or through a special inspection may examine the record of all such certificates issued by the bank so as to confirm their accuracy and conformity with underlying record and transaction trail.

  • UBL completes winding up New York Branch

    UBL completes winding up New York Branch

    KARACHI: United Bank Limited (UBL) has completed winding up of its New York Branch following the agreement was terminated by Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY), a statement said on Friday.

    In a notices sent Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), the bank said that further to the disclosure made on January 29, 2019 regarding the voluntary liquidation by UBL of its New York Branch, and surrendering of the NY Branch’s License to the New York State Department of Financial Services (the “NYDFS”), in accordance with Section 605.11 (c) of the New York Banking Law and the procedures prescribed by the NYDFS.

    The bank informed that consequent upon the liquidation of “NY Branch”, in an orderly manner, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (“FRBNY”) has informed that the Written Agreement dated 02 July 2018 (WA-2018), signed by and among the FRBNY, UBL and NY Branch has been terminated.

    This disclosure was made public by Federal Reserve Board on 23 May 2019 after the office hours in Pakistan. The termination of WA-2018 marks the completion of UBL NY Branch winding down process in an orderly manner under the guidance of both the Regulators i.e. NYDFS and FRBNY.

    UBL deeply appreciates the assistance provided by the State Bank of Pakistan, the New York Department of Financial Services, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York during the voluntary liquidation process and during the time that the NY Branch was in business.

  • KSE-100 gains 123 points amid selling activity

    KSE-100 gains 123 points amid selling activity

    KARACHI: The stock market ended with gain of 123 points on Friday despite selling activity observed at the end of the trading.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 35,704 points as against 35,581 points showing an increase of 123 points.

    Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market opened on a positive note today with +54 points and 3.4 million shares traded at opening bell.

    However, profit booking started soon that took the index in negative territory. Although buying activity was not observed across the board, bulls were still found to be in control, which took the index up by 185 points.

    Cement Sector led the volumes today with 26.9 million shares followed by Banks (18 million).

    Among scrips, UNITY led the table with 12.2 million shares, followed by MLCF (8.7 million) traded at upper circuit.

    Although total market volume declined, the market seems to have taken positive view on impending State Enterprise Fund that is likely to get a go-ahead in the coming week.

    Sectors contributing to the performance include Fertilizer (+82 points), Cement (+64 points), O&GMCs (+31 points), Food (+29 points), Banks (+28 points) and E&P (-139 points).

    Volumes dropped from 227.7 million shares to 142 million shares (-38 percent DoD). Average traded value also declined by 15 percent to reach $40.2 million as against $47.4 million.

    Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include UNITY, MLCF, TRG, PAEL and KEL, which formed 27 percent of total volumes.

    Stocks that contributed positively include FFC (+61 points), LUCK (+32 points), NESTLE (+24 points), UBL (+22 points) and DAWH (+21 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include OGDC (-57 points), PPL (-47 points), POL (-36 points), HBL (-13 points) and HMB (-11 points).

  • Rupee recovers another 25 paisas against dollar

    Rupee recovers another 25 paisas against dollar

    KARACHI: The Pak Rupee gained another 25 paisas against dollar for second day on Friday after witnessing massive deterioration during past nine days.

    The rupee ended Rs151.20 to the dollar from previous day’s closing of Rs151.45 in interbank foreign exchange market.

    The foreign exchange market was initiated in the range of Rs151.30 and Rs151.50.

    The market recorded day high o f Rs151.85 and low of Rs151.20 and closed at Rs151.20.

    The rupee fell to record low of Rs152 during the current week from the level of Rs141.40 to the dollar on May 15, 2019.

    The exchange rate in open market witnessed gain in rupee value.

    The buying and selling of dollar was recorded at Rs151.00/Rs152.00 from previous day’s closing of Rs152.00/Rs153.25 in cash ready market.

  • FTO directs audit of all manufacturers for misusing SRO 1125

    FTO directs audit of all manufacturers for misusing SRO 1125

    ISLAMABAD: Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) has directed Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to conduct audit of all manufacturers who availed the benefit of SRO 1125(I)/2011.

    In its suo moto action related to misuse of zero-rated sales tax facility under SRO 1125(I)/2011 the FTO detected systematic flaws and directed, through an order dated May 15, 2019, the FBR to take following measures:

    — develop a comprehensive risk management framework in the working of IRIS based sales tax registration rules and revisit the approved risk engine and scores to mitigate the possibility of any misuse of ‘manufacturer status’ by the registered persons;

    — “arrange audit of all manufacturers who availed the benefit of SRO 1125(I)/2011 to find out whether ‘manufacturer status’ was granted after fulfillment of requisite conditions and in cases of irregular approvals of manufacturers status fix responsibility on the dealing staff for proceedings under E&D Rules and take necessary measures under law/rules for recovery of losses caused to government revenues;

    — direct PRAL and Directorate of Reforms and Automation (Customs) to develop and implement system/software for live data synchronization with WeBOC regarding sales tax registration to ensure blacklisted and suspended taxpayers are not able to import and get undue benefit of SRO 1125(I)/2011; and

    — to direct all commissioners to conduct half yearly physical verification of all units registered in their jurisdiction as ‘manufacture’ to verify existence of manufacturing facility of all such units.

    The FTO also directed the FBR to submit quarterly implementation report.

    In the misuse of the SRO, the findings of the FTO observed that the review of sales tax registration rules and risk score weightage assigned to the risk parameters employed in the registration process which lead to misuse of ‘manufacturer’ status by registered persons for the purpose of tax evasion.

    The FTO further observed that the FBR vide SRO 494 (I)/2015 dated June 30, 2015 showed that the IRIS based Sales Tax Registration module failed to timely incorporate the provisions of revised registration rules.

    “The requisite changes in IRIS were incorporated after nine months vide SRO 227(I)/2016 dated March 21, 2016.”

    The FTO observed that the FBR had failed to take timely action in integrating the registration modules in IRIS system thereby providing opportunity to the unscrupulous elements to take advantage of the weaknesses in the registration procedure of the sales tax department.

    “Moreover, modification in the registration module was carried out after nine months of the revision of sales tax registration rules, but evidently no exercise was carried out by the field formation to verify that the existing manufacturers were registered in conformity with the provisions of revised rules.”

    The FTO mentioned two cases i.e. M/s. Aran Mart International and M/s. Venus & Co. where FBR had failed to monitor their transactions and took belated action to recover short levied government dues.

    In its case specific recommendations, the FTO asked the FBR to direct the Directorate General Intelligence and Investigation to:

    a. conduct detailed investigation to find out real owners of M/s. Aran Mark International by interalia utilizing information available in customs clearance documents and instruments used for payment of import duties and taxes; and

    b. recover the amount of illegal concessions availed by M/s. Aran Mart International uder the law/rules; and

    c. ascertain IR staff responsible for approving ‘manufacturer status’ of M/s. Aran Mart International either through collusion or failure to take precautionary measures for protection of government revenue for taking disciplinary action under E&D Rules and for recovery under the law/rules; and

    d. initiate criminal proceedings against the owners of M/s. Aran Mart International along with those delinquent tax functionaries who deliberately and with ulterior motive connived to approve the ‘manufacturer’ status of M/s. Aran Mart International.

    The FBR has also been asked to direct the Chief Commissioner IR, Corporate RTO Karachi to recover from M/s. Venus & Co. sales tax amounting to Rs32.799 million and further tax of Rs8.7 million assessed by the department.

    The FBR has been further asked to direct the Directorate of Intelligence and Investigation (Customs) to investigate and fix responsibility of clearance of import after suspension of STR of the M/s. Aran Mart International.

  • Compulsory acquisition of immovable properties for Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme; Ordinance promulgated

    Compulsory acquisition of immovable properties for Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme; Ordinance promulgated

    ISLAMABAD: The government will procure immovable properties for Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme through any means permissible under law including compulsory acquisition.

    In this regard President of Pakistan on Thursday promulgated Naya Pakistan Housing and Development Authority Ordinance, 2019 to provide for housing and real estate development, and other activities related to land and construction.

    As per the ordinance, the Naya Pakistan Housing and Development Authority will be established for the purposes of planning, development, construction and management of real estate projects.

    The authority shall identify immovable properties and projects suitable for the development of housing schemes.

    “It will recommend to the Federal Government to provide or procure immovable property or a project through any means permissible under law including compulsory acquisition, purchase, lease or licence through private agreement; donation by any private party or any state land or project by any government or other public authority, on such terms as may be mutually agreed between the Federal Government or the relevant transferor.”

    It will facilitate the low income segment for availing housing under this ordinance or any other specific programme or otherwise through the provision of loans or other facilities.

    Prime Minister of Pakistan shall be the patron of the authority and shall review its performance and give general policy directions.

    The patron shall constitute the policy board comprising not less than five and not more than 11 members, including chairman for a term of five years.

    The authority may raise funds through any means considered appropriate in the circumstances including through real estate investment trusts, bonds, sukuk and other forms of finances obtained on the basis of participation term certificate (PTC), musharika certificates, term finance certificate or any other financial or debt instruments or securities.

    It may raise funds and obtain finance or loans from donor agencies, government bodies, and financial institutions, including on the security of its fund.

    The federal government on the recommendation of the Authority shall constitute a Federal Land Bank and for which it may arrange or procure immovable property for the purposes of a scheme through any means permissible under law, including provision of State land by any government or public department, authority, agency or any corporation.

    The authority shall prepare feasibility studies for the development of schemes and determine the mode of development accordingly.

  • FBR suggested removing impediments in availing exemption certificates for industrial growth

    FBR suggested removing impediments in availing exemption certificates for industrial growth

    KARACHI: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has been suggested to remove restriction of exemption certificates for import of plant and machinery for new projects in order to promote industrial growth in the country.

    Pakistan Tax Bar Association (PTBA) in its tax proposals for budget 2019/2020 said that existing procedures and rules for obtaining exemption certificates for import of plant & machinery and raw material by taxpayers has serious restrictions which causes hardship and increases cost of doing business.

    The PTBA highlighted following issues related to exemption certificates:

    Current income tax rules do not support issuance of exemption certificate for import of raw material by manufacturers starting new business or in the process of expanding the current product or launched a new product etc. These restrictions are hindering industrial growth in the country;

    For qualifying for exemption, maximum import of raw material is restricted to the extent of 125 percent of the material previously imported and consumed;

    In order to qualify for exemption, the law requires minimum tax (equal to higher of last two years tax liability) to be paid before qualifying for exemption. This means that in the case of lower taxable profits due to expansion or operational reasons, the taxpayer will inevitably have a tax refundable in the current year;

    In case of newly established undertakings, tax credit under section 65D of Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 is not being allowed by the department while working out tax liability of the last two years;

    Coupled with a high rate of withholding at 5.5% these restrictions badly affect working capital of the manufacturers; and

    Currently, certificate of exemption from withholding tax on imports under Section 148 of Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 is not allowed to persons who are importing raw material, plant, machinery, equipment and parts for its own use unless they qualify as industrial undertaking.

    The tax paid at import stage on such imports by persons other than the industrial undertaking is treated as a final tax.

    The tax bar recommended that in order to address the issues faced in respect of claim of exemption under section 148 of the ITO, following amendments are proposed:-

    Restrictions in respect of issuance of exemption certificate for new projects / capacity expansions / formula and process changes may be removed which will allow industrial growth in the country;

    Maximum volume restriction be at least enhanced to 150 percent of last year’s raw material imported;

    Requirement to meet the tax payment equal to previous two tax years be abolished and may be linked with payment of advance tax liability for the respective period (as in the case of exemption under section 153);

    Amendments may be made to allow tax credit under section 65D while working out previous year’s tax liability for newly established undertakings already under immense cash-flow burden. This would help eliminate piling up of unnecessary refunds for newly established undertakings; and

    The rate of tax on import of raw material and plant & machinery may be gradually reduced to 1 percent.

    Clause (a) of sub-section (7) of Section 148 should be amended as under:-

    “Raw material, plant, machinery, equipment, parts or any other goods by any person for its own use”.

    In present situation, high rate of withholding at 5.5% coupled with these restrictions badly affect the working capital of the manufacturers. Removal of these hardships would provide incentive to industries and reduction of piling of huge refunds, it said.

  • France gives 94 million Euros soft loan to Pakistan

    France gives 94 million Euros soft loan to Pakistan

    ISLAMABAD: French Agency for Development (AFD) has extended Euro 94.01 million soft loan to Pakistan for extension of water resources, a statement said on Thursday.

    Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs, Dr. Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, witnessed the signing ceremony of the Credit Facility Agreement worth Euros 94.010m for Extension of Water Resources Faisalabad phase-II Project, signed by Secretary, Economic Affairs Division (EAD), Noor Ahmed, French Ambassador to Pakistan, Marc Barety, and Country Director of the French Agency for Development (AFD), Jacky AMPROU.

    AFD will provide a soft loan for the project for a period of 20 years including a grace period of 6 years at interest rate of 6-month Euribor with a spread of 52 basis points.

    Groundwater quality of Faisalabad city is brackish.

    The proposed project will augment Faisalabad Water and Sanitation agency capacity to provide 30 MGD of additional clean drinking water to citizens of Faisalabad through surface water treatment plant.

    France through the French Agency for Development is providing technical and financial support in energy and urban development sector in Pakistan.

    This project is AFD’s first investment in water and sanitation sector opening avenues for more collaboration with government of Pakistan.

    Earlier, the Ambassador called on the Adviser and exchanged views on matters pertaining to enhancement of bilateral cooperation.

    Highlighting the significance of the project, the Ambassador informed that the project would provide better service and clean drinking water to the population of Faisalabad.

    The project will contribute towards the Government of Pakistan’s strategy for improving the urban services and health conditions. Both the sides stressed the need for diversification of trade and promoting economic relations between the two countries.

    Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Secretary, EAD thanked the French Government and AFD for extending the financial assistance to Pakistan.

  • Pakistan imports cell phones worth Rs84.2 billion in ten months

    Pakistan imports cell phones worth Rs84.2 billion in ten months

    KARACHI: Pakistan has imported mobile phones worth Rs84.2 billion during July – April 2018/2019 despite serious economic difficulties in the country.

    According to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) the country imported mobile phones Rs84.2 billion during first ten months of current fiscal year as compared with Rs73.77 billion in the corresponding months of the last fiscal year, depicting increase of 14.14 percent.

    The rise import of cell phones increased despite the restrictions imposed by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) that only registered cell phones would be activated in the country.

    Further the duty and taxes have been increased on the import of cell phones during past two mini budgets.

    Experts said that the rise in import value of cell phone was also due to depreciation in local currency against dollar.

    The import of cell phones in dollar term has decline by 7 percent to $632 million during July – April 2018/2019 as compared with $678.57 million in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.

  • Pakistan’s forex reserves fall by $768 million

    Pakistan’s forex reserves fall by $768 million

    KARACHI: Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves have slipped by $768 million to $15.126 billion by weed ended May 17, 2019 from $15.894 billion a week ago, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Thursday.

    The official reserves of the SBP fell by $788 million to $8.057 billion by week ended May 17, 2019 from $8.845 billion a week ago.

    The central bank said that the official reserves declined due to debt servicing and other office payment.

    The foreign exchange reserves held by other commercial banks, however, increased by $20 million to $7.069 billion as compared with $7.049 billion.