In a significant move to combat Benami transactions, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has announced the establishment of three dedicated zones in major cities across the country.
(more…)Author: Faisal Shahnawaz
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Prime Minister directs to ensure security, commodity availability during Ramzan
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday directed interior ministry and all provincial governments to ensure security and availability of commodities during the holy month of Ramzan.
In a letter addressed to Ministry of Interior and Chief Secretaries of all provincial governments including AJ&K and Gilgit Baltistan, the Prime Minister directed that coordination meetings with all provinces should be held to streamline the arrangements including security measures.
Notification of Price Control Committees, down till field levels in all the provinces and ICT should be issued.
The PM office has directed that physical presence of officers at Mandis, specially monitoring the auction process in order to keep base prices at minimum level should be ensured during Ramzan.
It directed the provincial governments that intelligence based action should be taken against black marketing and hoarding.
The provinces have been asked to issue detailed duty roster in each District covering all important markets, without over stretching the officers.
To complement effective implementation and monitoring, services of officers of line departments may be incorporated and investment of magisterial power by the concerned law departments, if required.
The prime minister office advised that performance monitoring of the officers and Districts should be made on KPIs and setting success benchmarks.
It has further advised that volunteers should be mobilized to get feedback about shortages and overpricing on Citizen Complain Portal.
The Prime Minister Office has stressed upon the need for holding well managed Sasta Bazars with availability of all essential commodities on control prices.
Prime Minister has directed that special measures should be taken to control the use of loud speakers during the month of Ramzan.
District Price Control Committees and Law & Order Committee headed by respective DCs should meet at regular intervals. Prime Minister has emphasized upon the need for ensuring fool-proof security arrangements especially during Traveh.
The Prime Minister Office has further advised the provincial government that surprise checking by the senior provincial officers in the districts should be ensured.
The letter calls upon the provincial governments to ensure uninterrupted supply of gas, electricity and water especially at the time of Sehri and Iftar.
It says that provision of subsidized flour, sugar , ghee/oil etc by the provincial governments in model bazar only should also be ensured.
The Prime Minister has directed Ministry of Interior to hold coordination meeting with all relevant stakeholders as soon as possible and to issue instructions/ make necessary arrangements accordingly.
It is pertinent to mention the government has already announced Ramazan package at the Utility Stores for providing low priced commodities to masses.
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Pakistan Customs surpasses revenue target, collects Rs510.11bn in nine months
KARACHI: Pakistan Customs has surpassed the target by collecting Rs510.11 billion as duty during July – March 2018/2019, said a statement on Monday.
The target for collection of customs duty for the first nine months was Rs509.3 billion. The duty collection during July – March 2018/2019 is higher 19.2 percent when compared with Rs482 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.
The customs authorities also collected Rs581.8 billion as sales tax on imported goods during the period. However, the collection was lower when compared with Rs592.6 billion in the same period of the last fiscal year.
The authorities attributed the decline in sales tax on import stage to decrease in quantity and value of petroleum products and measures of the government to regulate import of vehicles in different schemes.
Moreover, the customs collected Rs169 billion as withholding income tax on import stage which was 4.6 percent higher than previous year’s collection.
Besides, Pakistan Customs also collected Federal Excise Duty (FED) to the tune of Rs9.9 billion during July – March 2018/2019 which was 21.2 percent higher when compared with Rs8.2 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.
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Alvi praises FTO role in resolving taxpayers’ complaints
ISLAMABAD: President of Pakistan Dr. Arif Alvi has praised the role of Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) for resolution of aggrieved taxpayers’ complaints.
The president said this while talking to Federal Tax Ombudsman, Mushtaq Ahmad Sukhera, who called on him at Aiwan-i-Sadr on Monday.
FTO also presented the annual report (2018) to the President.
The President expressed his satisfaction on the decreasing number of representations against the recommendations of FTO.
He appreciated the launching of e-based Complaint Management Information System(CMIS), which provides paperless office environment.
He lauded FTO’s efforts for starting focused SMS and email campaigns to reach out to taxpayers.
Moreover, he commended FTO for the development of a system for registration of complaints through android based hand-held devices.
He highlighted that video link of FTO with Regional Offices is a step in right direction to eliminate time and space barriers.
He stated that integration of FTO’s CMIS with FBR will improve its efficiency.
He emphasized that there is a need for further steps for creation of awareness about the efficacy of the forum.
He assured his support to the institution in the discharge of its duties and function.
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Imran Khan welcomes investment from Qatar
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has welcomed investment from Qatar in various sectors of the economy.
A delegation of Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) headed by H.E. Sheikh Faisal Bin Thani Al-Thani, Head of Regional Portfolios, called on Prime Minister Imran Khan at PM Office.
Prime Minister welcomed QIA’s interest in making investments in various sectors of economy.
The prime minister highlighted various business opportunities in Tourism, Housing and other sectors.
Imran Khan also highlighted various steps and policy reforms that have been taken by the present government to facilitate investors and the business communities.
Sheikh Faisal Bin Thani Al-Thani is head of Qatar Investment Department and Head of Qatar Regional Investment Fund at Qatar Investment Authority.
The Qatari delegation included heads of various organisations in housing, tourism, real estate and energy sectors. Advisor to PM on Commerce Abdul Razzak Dawood, Chairman BOI Haroon Sharif were also present during the meeting. The delegation expressed keen interest in investing in housing, energy, tourism and Airport management sectors of Pakistan.
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FPCCI criticizes increase in POL product prices
KARACHI: Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) on Monday criticized the increase in prices of petroleum products for the month of April 2019.
In a statement issued by the FPCCI, its president Engr. Daroo Khan Achakzai had shown serious concern on exorbitant increase of Rs6 per litre in the prices of petrol and diesel with effect from April 01, 2019.
He said: “ It will have a multiplier effect on almost all the business activities including cost of transportation – within and inter-city – of raw materials and consumer goods thus further escalating the cost of production of industrial goods and spurring inflationary trend which at present is already 8.2 percent.”
The FPCCI Chief elaborated that the price of all the food (fruits and vegetables) and kitchen items; construction material; fertilizers; imported goods etc., would be dearer as these goods are supplied to the different cities of the country through diesel based vehicles.
The FPCCI chief recalled that the price of crude oil in international market on August 2018, when the PTI government assumed the charge, was US $ 75 / barrel which up to March 28, 2019 was further declined to US $ 66.67 / barrel viz 7 percent – 8 percent.
“However, instead of passing benefits to the masses, government had not responded to it accordingly and showed reluctance to provide relief to the consumers proportionately”, he added.
He argued that the actual price of petrol is Rs. 58.94 / litre whereas it is supplied to the consumers @ Rs. 98.89 / litre out of which about Rs. 40 / litre is earned by the government, dealers and distributors.
Supported by facts and figures Engr. Daroo Khan Achakzai argued, “About 90 percent of total consumption of POL products are jointly consumed by the transport sector and power sector, wherein, almost 65 percent electricity is generated by the thermal while fuel (furnace oil and diesel) consumption for thermal power generation is 52 percent”.
He therefore, underscored the need to translate these cheaper prices in electricity tariff which would have a positive multiplier effect on cost of operation / production of industrial activities like cement, textile, paint chemical sectors etc. and ultimately contribute in promotion of exports and reduction in inflation.
This will also help in shifting the burden from CNG consumption in transport to petrol and making it available to the industrial sector particularly in Punjab which is suffering from acute shortage of gas in winter season.
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Rupee eases by 11 paisas against dollar
KARACHI: The rupee depreciated 11 paisas against dollar on Monday owing to hike in policy rate and petroleum products.
The rupee ended Rs140.89 to the dollar from last Friday’s close of Rs140.78 in interbank foreign exchange market.
The interbank foreign exchange market was initiated in the range of Rs140.80 and Rs140.85.
The market recorded day high of Rs140.90 and low of Rs140.85 and closed at Rs140.89.
The exchange rate in open market was also changed with depreciation of the local currency.
The buying and selling of dollar was recorded at Rs142.00/Rs142.70 to the dollar from last Saturday’s closing of Rs142.00/Rs142.50 in cash ready market.
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Goods transporters reject increase in POL product prices
Goods transporters in Karachi have expressed strong opposition to the recent hike in petroleum product prices, announcing a corresponding 10 percent increase in transportation fares.
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SBP issues regulations for electronic money institutions
KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday issued regulations for electronic money institutions in order to promote financial inclusion in the country.
In a statement, the central bank said that in order to foster innovation in the payments industry and promote financial inclusion in the country, it has been decided to license non-banking entities as E-Money Institutions (EMIs) as per the notified regulations under the powers conferred on SBP by Payment Systems and Electronic Fund Transfers Act, 2007.
These regulations will remove entry barriers and provide level playing field to EMIs in payment’s arena which will eventually lead to the development of payments ecosystem in Pakistan.
SBP therefore expects that the prospective EMIs shall offer convenient, cost effective, interoperable and secure digital payment products and services to end users in the country.
These Regulations shall come into force with immediate effect.
The objectives of the regulations are included:
I. To provide regulatory framework for EMIs desirous of offering innovative payment services to the general public.
II. To prescribe minimum service standards and requirements for EMIs to ensure delivery of payment services in a safe, sound and cost effective manner.
III. To outline the permissible activities that can be carried out by an EMI and its agents’ network.
IV. To provide a baseline for protection of EMI’s customers.
V. To achieve the SBP’s objective of digital payments and financial inclusion.
The SBP said that Payment Systems and Electronic Funds Transfer Act, 2007 defines e-money as monetary value stored on an electronic device or payment instrument issued on receipt of funds and accepted as a means of payment by entities other than issuer.
E-money globally is widely used for making retail payments in an economy and has played a crucial role in digitizing different types of payments in various countries.
Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs) are entities that offer innovative, user-friendly and cost effective low value digital payment prepaid instruments like wallets, prepaid cards, and contactless payment instruments including wearables.
Globally, these innovative payment instruments have been instrumental in promoting cashless payments like merchant checkouts, e-commerce, transportation and toll payments etc.
Traditionally, payment instruments in Pakistan are issued by banks without participation of non-banking entities.
New technological innovations are now enabling non-banking sector to deliver innovative and efficient payment services to consumers at much lower cost.
These regulations are primarily aimed at removing entry barriers for non-banking entities by providing them a guiding as well as an enabling regulatory framework for the establishment and operations of EMIs in Pakistan.
These regulations also address potential risks in order to ensure consumer protection in line with legal framework of the country while promoting digital payments and financial inclusion.
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FBR’s tax collection gap widens by Rs295bn; needs Rs1,698bn in three months to meet target
ISLAMABAD: The deficit in tax collection has soared by 295 billion in first nine month of current fiscal year making it an impossible task for Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to achieve Rs4,398 billion target for current fiscal year.
The revenue collection for July – March 2019 was stood at Rs2,700 billion as against the target of Rs2,995 billion.
The widening of tax gap posed a serious trouble for the government in meeting development expenditures and curtailing fiscal deficit.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has already projected the fiscal deficit at 6 to 7 percent as against actual target of 4.9 percent of the GDP for the fiscal year 2018/2019.
According to provisional collection the FBR collected Rs358 billion. The collection target for the month of March was Rs432 billion.
FBR sources said that the collection of advance tax witnessed steep fall due to shrinking profitability of the corporate sector.
The corporate sector pay advance income tax in March on the assumption of their income in the three quarters.
As per the latest development in the revenue collection the FBR will required Rs1,698 billion during next three months in order to achieve the revenue collection target of Rs4,398 billion.