Author: Faisal Shahnawaz

Karachi, November 27, 2025 – The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has issued directives instructing commercial banks to observe extended working hours on Saturday, November 29, 2025, to facilitate taxpayers making over-the-counter (OTC) payments of government duties and taxes.

In an official circular, the SBP announced that all Saturday-opening branches of commercial banks — including National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) branches handling customs-related collections — will remain operational from 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. on the specified date. The move aims to ease taxpayer burden ahead of monthly and quarterly deadlines.

The central bank further stated that NBP branches manually collecting government receipts and payments must ensure same-day settlement with their respective SBP-BSC field offices or head office immediately after completing the same-day clearing process.

To support timely processing, the National Institutional Facilitation Technologies (NIFT) will conduct a Special Clearing at 5:30 P.M. on November 29 for all government-related instruments submitted at bank counters. NIFT will provide the clearing fate of these instruments by 11:30 P.M. on the same day, ensuring smooth reconciliation and settlement of government receipts.

The SBP’s directive follows a recent instruction from the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), which earlier directed Inland Revenue field offices to observe a normal working day on November 29 to support maximum tax collection before the month-end.

The SBP emphasized that the extended arrangements aim to ensure seamless tax payment processing and enhance convenience for taxpayers across the country.