KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday increased key policy rate by 50 basis points to 10.75 percent for next two months effective from April 01, 2019.
(more…)Author: Faisal Shahnawaz
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Equity market gains 96 points in range bound trading
KARACHI: The equity market ended with 96 points gain on Friday in a range bound trading activity.
The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 38,649 points as against 38,553 points showing an increase of 96 points.
Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said the market performed range bound between -69 points and +180 points and did not oscillate much.
Most volume (for the third consecutive session) was observed in UNITY rights of 25 million shares as against total market volume of 138 million (18 percent).
Cement sector performed well on the release of cement dispatch data that showed growth in sales volume against expectation, however, selling pressure kept the price growth in check. Banks, Cement and Power sector led the volumes table (other than Vanaspati), which was mainly contributed by BOP, FCCL and KEL respectively.
Sectors contributing to the performance include O&GMCs (+34 points), Cement (+34 points), Fertilizer (+21 points), Textile (+18 points), Banks (+17 points), Power (-32 points).
Volumes increased slightly to 137.7 million shares as against 132.2 million shares (+4 percent DoD).
Average traded value also increased by 18 percent to reach US$ 36.9 million as against US$ 31.3 million.
Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include UNITYR1, BOP, KEL, ASL and FCCL, which formed 38 percent of total volumes.
Stocks that contributed positively include OGDC (+18 points), UBL (+18 points), ENGRO (+17 points), LUCK (+15 points), and SNGP (+13 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include HUBC (-36 points), HBL (-33 points), PSEL (-25 points), PPL (-10 points) and FFBL (-5 points).
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Rupee sheds 49 paisas against dollar
KARACHI: The Pak Rupee fell sharply by 49 against the US dollar on Friday owing to higher demand for import and corporate payments.
The rupee ended Rs140.78 to the dollar from previous day’s close of Rs140.29 in interbank foreign exchange market.
The interbank foreign market was initiated in the range of Rs140.60 and Rs140.80.
The market recorded day high of Rs140.80 and low of Rs140.78 and closed at Rs140.78.
The rupee also fell by 80 paisas in the open market against dollar.
The buying and selling of dollar was recorded at Rs141.30/Rs141.80 from previous day’s closing of Rs140.50/Rs141.00 in cash ready market.
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Rupee falls by 41 paisas against dollar in early trade
KARACHI: The Pak Rupee witnessed massive fall of 41 paisas against US dollar in early trade on Friday.
The dollar is being traded at Rs140.70 in Interbank Foreign Exchange Market. The foreign currency market ended yesterday at Rs140.29 to the dollar.
Currency experts said the higher demand for import and corporate demand escalated the rupee value.
The experts said that the State Bank of Pakistan is announcing monetary policy today. This announcement also pressurized the local currency.
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Income Tax Ordinance 2001: Income from pension funds tax exempted
KARACHI: The government has allowed tax exemption to the income derived by pensioners invested in various schemes, including pension funds.
The Second Schedule of Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 allowed tax exemption to the income derived by pensioners.
The following exemptions are available to the pensioners:
Any payment from a provident fund to which the Provident Funds Act, 1925 applies.
The accumulated balance due and becoming payable to an employee participating in a recognized provident fund.
The accumulated balance up to 50 percent received from the voluntary pension system offered by a pension fund manager under the Voluntary Pension System Rules, 2005 at the time of eligible person’s-
(a) retirement; or
(b) disability rendering him unable to work.
The amounts received as monthly installment from an income payment plan invested out of the accumulated balance of an individual pension accounts with a pension fund manager or an approved annuity plan or another individual pension account of eligible person or the survivors pension account maintained with any other pension fund manager as specified in the Voluntary Pension System Rules 2005 shall be exempt from tax provided accumulated balance is invested for a period of ten years:
Provided that where any amount is exempted under this clause and subsequently it is discovered, on the basis of documents or otherwise, by the Commissioner that any of the conditions specified in this clause were not fulfilled, the exemption originally allowed shall be deemed to have been wrongly allowed and the Commissioner may, notwithstanding anything contained in this Ordinance, re-compute the tax payable by the taxpayer for the relevant years and the provisions of this Ordinance shall, so far as may be, apply accordingly.
Any withdrawal of accumulated balance from approved pension fund that represent the transfer of balance of approved provident fund to the said approved pension fund under the Voluntary Pension System Rules , 2005.
Any benevolent grant paid from the Benevolent Fund to the employees or members of their families in accordance with the provisions of the Central Employee Benevolent Fund and Group Insurance Act, 1969.
Any payment from an approved superannuation fund made on the death of a beneficiary or in lieu of or in commutation of any annuity, or by way of refund of contribution on the death of a beneficiary.
Any income of a person representing the sums received by him as a worker from out of the Workers Participation Fund established under the Companies Profits (Workers Participation) Act, 1968.
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KTBA elects Rehan Siddiqui as president for 2019-2020
KARACHI: Karachi Tax Bar Association (KTBA) in the 62nd Annual General Meeting held on Thursday announced Muhammad Rehan Siddiqui as president of the association of the term 2019-2020.
The AGM announced following office bearers and executive committee after the election 2019:
Office Bearers:
Muhammad Rehan Siddiqui, President
Syed Hassan Naeem, Vice President
Syed Zafar Ahmed, General Secretary
Ammar Ather Saeed, Joint Secretary
Muhammad Mustafa Raheem, Librarian
Executive Committee Member:
Arshad Ali Siddiqui
Arshad Mahmood
Ghulam Rabbani
Iqbal Ahmad Abdan
Irfan Ghafoor
Khalid Mahmood Siddiqui
Muhammad Mehmood Bikiya
Syed Faiq Raza Rizvi
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.