Pkrevenue.com

Author: Faisal Shahnawaz

  • FBR temporarily halts raids on tax evaders

    FBR temporarily halts raids on tax evaders

    ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has temporarily halted raids on tax evaders on assurance of business community.

    The FBR has given an opportunity to non-compliant taxpayers to declare their income and assets by filing annual returns up to March 31.

    At a media briefing on Thursday, Member Inland Revenue (Poilcy) Doctor Hamid Ateeq Sarwar and Member Inland Revenue (Operations) said that the FBR stopped the recovery campaign for fifteen days.

    The members said that the raids have been suspended as a good gesture on the request of the business community.

    Chambers and trade bodies have assured their cooperation in recovery of due amount of taxes from business community.

    Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) and other business community had raised the issue of raids by tax offices during recent visit of FBR chairman Mohammad Jehanzeb Khan to Karachi.

    Member IR Operations Seema Shakil confirmed the issuance of notice to former president Asif Ali Zardari. She said that relevant office in Karachi which is dealing the case.

  • Ministry probes Indian expired mango pulp entry

    Ministry probes Indian expired mango pulp entry

    ISLAMABAD: Ministry of National Food Security & Research (MNFSR) has taken notice of reports regarding the “import of expired Indian mango pulp”.

    The Ministry of National Food Security and Research made thorough investigation of the matter, a statement said on Thursday.

    In this backdrop the official stance of the Ministry of National Food Security & Research is as follows:

    “Mango pulp is a regulatory article under Plant Quarantine Act (PAQ) 1976 and Plant Quarantine Rule (PAR) 1967 which is enforced by Department of Plant Protection (DPP) M/o NFS &R.”

    For further assurance and strict compliance, SRO 1067(i)/2017 dated 20th October, 2017 was issued and amendments were made in the Import Permit Policy Order, 2016 to give clarity to the Custom of Pakistan and all stakeholders regarding import of all agro products in the country.

    Furthermore, for the import of mango pulp, there is a mandatory requirement of a valid import permit from DPP, valid Phyto-sanitary Certificate from exporting country and Plant Protection Release Order (PPRO) of DPP, before releasing the consignment by the Custom authorities.

    The Ministry of National Food Security through its attached departments has probed the matter after the news item was published and hence clarified that neither the DPP, has given any Import Permit nor has given any PPRO for entry in the country.

    However, it is assumed that without doing needful, the said consignment was released in clear violation of PQA 1976 and PQR 1967 and SRO 1067(i)/2017. It is further reiterated that there is no role of Ministry of National Food Security & Research regarding import of expired mango pulp in the country.

    However, the Ministry is taking up the matter with Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and provincial Food Authorities to further probe the matter and take appropriate action defined in relevant laws/regulations.

  • Foreign exchange reserves increase to $17.58bn

    Foreign exchange reserves increase to $17.58bn

    KARACHI: The total liquid foreign exchange reserves of the country have increased to $17.58 billion by March 25, 2019, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Thursday.

    The central bank received RMB 15 billion equivalent to US$2.2 billion on March 25 as proceeds of the loan obtained by the government of Pakistan from China.

    Accordingly, foreign exchange reserves held by the SBP stood at US$10.67 billion and total foreign exchange reserves of the country stood at US$17.58 billion.

  • FBR notifies transfers, postings of IRS officers of BS-16-19

    FBR notifies transfers, postings of IRS officers of BS-16-19

    ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Thursday notified transfers and postings of Inland Revenue Service (IRS) officers of BS-16 to BS-19 with immediate effect until further orders.

    Following officers have been notified under the transfers and postings:

    01. Abdur Razzaq Khan (Inland Revenue Service/BS-19) has been transferred and posted as Additional Commissioner Inland Revenue Corporate Regional Tax Office, Lahore from the post of Additional Commissioner, Regional Tax Office, Sahiwal.

    02. Ms. Kehkshan Khan (Inland Revenue Service/BS-18) on promotion has been transferred and posted as Additional Commissioner Inland Revenue Large Taxpayers Unit, Lahore.

    03. Ms. Rukhsana Arif (Inland Revenue Service/BS-18) on promotion has been transferred and posted as Additional Commissioner Inland Revenue Regional Tax Office II, Lahore.

    04. Ghulam Hussain (Inland Revenue Service/BS-18) on promotion has been transferred and posted as Additional Commissioner Inland Revenue Regional Tax Office, Bahawalpur.

    05. Ms. Amra Sarwar (Inland Revenue Service/BS-18) has been transferred and posted as Additional Commissioner Inland Revenue (On acting charge) Corporate Regional Tax Office, Lahore from the post of Deputy Commissioner, Corporate Regional Tax Office, Lahore.

    06. Asad Aziz (Inland Revenue Service/BS-18) has been transferred and posted as Additional Commissioner Inland Revenue (On acting charge) Regional Tax Office, Sargodha from the post of Deputy Commissioner, Regional Tax Office, Sargodha.

    07. Ms. Saba Rehmat (Inland Revenue Service/BS-18) has been transferred and posted as Additional Commissioner Inland Revenue (On acting charge) Regional Tax Office, Islamabad from the post of Deputy Director, Directorate of Immovable Property (North), Islamabad.

    08. Karim Baksh Bughio (Inland Revenue Service/BS-18) has been transferred and posted as Additional Commissioner Inland Revenue (On acting charge) Corporate Regional Tax Office, Karachi from the post of Deputy Commissioner, (AEOI Zone) Large Taxpayers Unit, Karachi.

    09. Mrs. Saima Kenan Khan (Inland Revenue Service/BS-18) has been transferred and posted as Additional Commissioner Inland Revenue (On acting charge) Regional Tax Office, Peshawar from the post of Deputy Director, Addl. Directorate of Internal Audit (Inland Revenue), Peshawar.

    10. Husnain Ahmad Hali (Inland Revenue Service/BS-18) has been transferred and posted as Additional Commissioner Inland Revenue (On acting charge) Regional Tax Office II, Lahore from the post of Deputy Commissioner, (IR) Regional Tax Office II, Lahore.

    11. Kashif Hafeez (Inland Revenue Service/BS-18) has been transferred and posted as Additional Commissioner Inland Revenue (On acting charge) Corporate Regional Tax Office, Karachi from the post of Deputy Commissioner, Corporate Regional Tax Office, Karachi.

    12. Inayat Malik (Inland Revenue Service/BS-18) has been transferred and posted as Additional Commissioner Inland Revenue (On acting charge) Large Taxpayers Unit, Islamabad from the post of Deputy Commissioner, Large Taxpayers Unit, Islamabad.

    13. Akhtar Abbas (Inland Revenue Service/BS-18) has been transferred and posted as Additional Commissioner Inland Revenue (On acting charge) Regional Tax Office II, Lahore from the post of Deputy Director, Directorate of Intelligence & Investigation (Inland Revenue), Lahore.

    14. Jamil Ahmad (Inland Revenue Service/BS-18) has been transferred and posted as Additional Director, (On acting charge) Directorate of Intelligence & Investigation (Inland Revenue), Karachi from the post of Deputy Director, (IR) Directorate of Intelligence & Investigation (Inland Revenue), Karachi.

    15. Muhammad Masood Ahmed Gorsi (Inland Revenue Service/BS-18) has been transferred and posted as Additional Commissioner Inland Revenue (On acting charge) Corporate Regional Tax Office, Karachi from the post of Deputy Commissioner, Large Taxpayers Unit, Karachi.

    16. Kamran Ullah (Inland Revenue Service/BS-18) has been transferred and posted as Additional Commissioner Inland Revenue (On acting charge) Regional Tax Office, Rawalpindi from the post of Deputy Director, Directorate General of Intelligence & Investigation (Inland Revenue), Islamabad.

    17. Laiq Zaman (Inland Revenue Service/BS-18) has been transferred and posted as Additional Commissioner Inland Revenue (On acting charge) Large Taxpayers Unit-II, Karachi from the post of Deputy Commissioner, Large Taxpayers Unit-II, Karachi.

    18. Naseebullah (Inland Revenue Service/BS-18) has been transferred and posted as Additional Commissioner Inland Revenue (On acting charge) Large Taxpayers Unit, Karachi from the post of Deputy Commissioner, Large Taxpayers Unit, Karachi.

    19. Naseer Ahmed (Inland Revenue Service/BS-18) has been transferred and posted as Additional Commissioner Inland Revenue (On acting charge) Corporate Regional Tax Office, Karachi from the post of Deputy Commissioner, Corporate Regional Tax Office, Karachi.

    20. Muhammad Sajid Ahmad (Inland Revenue Service/BS-18) has been transferred and posted as Additional Commissioner Inland Revenue (On acting charge) Large Taxpayers Unit, Lahore from the post of Deputy Commissioner, Large Taxpayers Unit, Lahore.

    21. Syed Zubair Shah (Inland Revenue Service/BS-18) has been transferred and posted as Additional Commissioner Inland Revenue (On acting charge) Large Taxpayers Unit, Islamabad from the post of Deputy Commissioner, Regional Tax Office, Abbottabad.

    22. Asif Jamali (Inland Revenue Service/BS-18) has been transferred and posted as Deputy Commissioner Inland Revenue Large Taxpayers Unit, Karachi from the post of Deputy Commissioner, Large Taxpayers Unit-II, Karachi.

    23. Amjad Ali Moroojo (AOST/BS-18) has been transferred and posted as Assistant Director (Audit), Large Taxpayers Unit, Karachi from the post of Assistant Director (Audit), Large Taxpayers Unit-II, Karachi.

    24. Muhammad Kashif Khan (Inland Revenue Service/BS-18) has been transferred and posted as Deputy Commissioner Inland Revenue Large Taxpayers Unit-II, Karachi from the post of Deputy Commissioner, Large Taxpayers Unit, Karachi.

    25. Asif Nazir (Inland Revenue Service/BS-18) has been transferred and posted as Deputy Commissioner Inland Revenue Large Taxpayers Unit, Karachi from the post of Deputy Commissioner, Large Taxpayers Unit-II, Karachi.

    26. Rabnawaz Ahmad Matiana (Inland Revenue Service/BS-17) has been transferred and posted as Deputy Commissioner Inland Revenue (BTB) Regional Tax Office II, Karachi from the post of Deputy Commissioner, Large Taxpayers Unit, Karachi.

    27. Danish Qamar (Inland Revenue Service/BS-17) has been transferred and posted as Deputy Commissioner Inland Revenue Large Taxpayers Unit-II, Karachi from the post of Deputy Commissioner, Large Taxpayers Unit, Karachi.

    28. Tanvir Muhammad Niaz (Inland Revenue Service/BS-17) has been transferred and posted as Assistant Commissioner (Prob) Inland Revenue Regional Tax Office, Islamabad from the post of Assistant Commissioner (Prob), Regional Tax Office, Rawalpindi.

    29. Syed M. Ghazanffar (Sales Tax Department/BS-16) has been transferred and posted as Senior Auditor, Large Taxpayers Unit-II, Karachi from the post of Senior Auditor, Large Taxpayers Unit, Karachi.

    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.

  • SBP directs banks to facilitate duty, taxes payment

    SBP directs banks to facilitate duty, taxes payment

    KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday directed banks to facilitate payment of duty and taxes on Saturday, March 30, 2019.

    The central bank in a statement said in order to facilitate the collection of Government receipts/duties/taxes, NIFT will provide special clearing facility on the advice of SBP on Saturday, March 30, 2019 at 8:00 pm.

    All banks are, therefore, advised to keep their concerned branches open on March 30, 2019 (Saturday) till such time that is necessary to facilitate the special clearing for the government transactions.

  • SBP sets up help desk for MNCs, domestic businesses

    SBP sets up help desk for MNCs, domestic businesses

    KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has established a facilitation desk for foreign exchange related remittances to help multinational companies and domestic businesses.

    In a statement on Thursday, the SBP said it had established the facilitation desk to cater to the queries pertaining to foreign exchange related remittances to help all stakeholders including multinational companies and domestic businesses.

    The facilitation desk will provide assistance on foreign exchange related matters pertaining to areas including registration of equity, borrowing contracts, profit repatriation; acknowledgement and approval of royalty, franchise, technical and management services; training and development fees; operational and maintenance charges; lease rentals/maintenance reserves of airlines; legal and advisory services, visa and consulate fee; approval to issue guarantees and standby letter of credits; and any other foreign exchange related matters.

    Banks have been directed to devise benchmarks for processing and due diligence of each type of transaction and ensure compliance thereof.

    The facilitation desk has been established at Foreign Exchange Operations Department, Banking Services Corporation, I.I. Chundrigar Road, Karachi.

  • Stock market plunges by 412 points on profit taking

    Stock market plunges by 412 points on profit taking

    KARACHI: The equity market fell by 412 points on Thursday reversing the yesterday’s gain on profit taking activities.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 38,553 points as against 38,965 points showing a decline of 412 points.

    Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market reversed major part of the gains made yesterday.

    Yesterday’s activity was hinged on quarter-end closing, no change in interest rates, higher crude prices and expectation of large hydro-carbon discovery in Indus offshore.

    Today’s reversal can very much can be attributed to a negative view on discovery, slight reduction in oil price and profit taking activity by institutional investors.

    A wait-and-see approach from institutional investors also kept stock prices in check, rather added to selling pressure.

    Similar to yesterday, UNITY’s right shares got the lion’s share in traded volume with 43 million shares as against a total of 132 million (33 percent).

    Other than Vanaspati, Banks, Cement and Engineering sectors contributed to the volumes, mainly to the downside.

    Sectors contributing to the performance include E&P (-132 points), Cement (-79 points), Banks (-53 points), Fertilizer (-37 points), Insurance (-21 points).

    Volumes reduced to 131.8mn shares as against 228.7 million shares yesterday (-42 percent DoD). Average traded value also declined by 29 percent to reach US$ 31.2 million as against US$ 43.9 million.

    Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include UNITYR1, BOP, STPL, WTL and PIBTL, which formed 47 percent of total volumes.

    Stocks that contributed positively include BAHL (+12 points), MEBL (+11 points), MTL (+9 points), KAPCO (+8 points), and FATIMA (+7 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include PPL (-67 points), OGDC (-48 points), LUCK (-37 points), UBL (-30 points) and HBL (-22 points).

  • Rupee ends firmer against dollar

    Rupee ends firmer against dollar

    KARACHI: The Pak Rupee ended firmer against the US dollar on Thursday in a range bound trading activity.

    The rupee ended Rs140.29 to the dollar from previous day’s close of Rs140.28 in interbank foreign exchange market.

    The interbank foreign exchange market was initiated in the range of Rs140.28 and Rs140.30.

    The market recorded day high of Rs140.30 and low of Rs140.29 and closed at Rs140.29.

    The exchange rate remained unchanged in open market.

    The buying and selling of dollar was recorded at Rs140.50/Rs141.00, the same previous day’s level, in cash ready market.

  • No change in tax rates on cash withdrawal: FBR

    No change in tax rates on cash withdrawal: FBR

    ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has said that the government has not revised rates or limits of withholding tax on cash withdrawal from banks.

    In a statement on Thursday, the FBR said that the federal government has not revised rates or limits for tax on cash withdrawal from bank accounts under section 231A and on issuance of cash denominated bank instruments such as pay orders and demand drafts under section 231AA of Income Tax Ordinance 2001.

    The FBR spokesperson has strongly refuted such news appearing on some sections of media

    There has been no change in cash limits or tax rates in any of the two provisions of law.

    The only change which has been made through Finance 2nd Supplementary Act 2019 is taking out the tax filers from the scope of both these provisions.

    Now these withholding provisions are applicable only to non-filers, the spokesperson has further clarified.

    The spokesperson added that this huge concessionary step has been taken by the Government to encourage commercial activity through banking channels which needs to be appreciated.

  • Rupee eases in early trade

    Rupee eases in early trade

    KARACHI: The Pak Rupee fell by two paisas against US dollar on Thursday in early day trading.

    The dollar is being traded at Rs140.29 in Interbank Foreign Exchange Market. The foreign currency market last day ended at Rs140.27.