KARACHI: Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI) on Thursday expressed its shock and dismay over action taken by the tax authorities against Pakistan’s leading mobile operator.
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FBR initiates Rs25 billion tax recovery from Mobilink
ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Wednesday initiated tax recovery of Rs25 billion from M/s. Pakistan Mobile Communication Limited (PMCL), including sealing of business premises.
PMCL is a mobile operator in Pakistan operating with trade name of Mobilink.
Large Taxpayers Office (LTO) Islamabad, one of the major revenue collecting units of the FBR, took the action against the mobile operator as income tax amount Rs25.39 billion was outstanding against the defaulter. “The defaulter is refraining itself deliberately, dishonestly and without lawful excuse to discharge tax liability and thus causing huge loss to the national exchequer,” according to a notice of LTO Islamabad.
The tax office had given deadline till 1300 hours on October 28, 2020 to pay the outstanding amount.
The tax office had initiated the recovery proceedings for the said amount by one or more of the following modes, namely:
— Attachment and sale of moveable or immovable property;
— Appointment of receiver for the management of your moveable or immovable property;
— Arrest and detention in person for a period not exceeding six months.
— As specified under clasue (a), (ca) and (d) of sub-section (I) of section 48 of the Sales Tax Act, 1990.
The FBR notice said that an amount of Rs22.03 billion was outstanding against the mobile operator related to tax year 2018. Further an amount of default surcharge of Rs3.36 billion to total outstanding amount.
While responding to the report, the PMCL issued the following statement:
“Jazz is a law-abiding and responsible corporate citizen. Our contribution to Pakistan’s economy over the past 25 years is significant.
“We have received a notice from FBR this afternoon. Jazz has made tax submissions based on legal interpretations of the tax owed. We will review and take measures under our legal obligations and will collaborate with all concerned institutions for an early resolution of this issue.”
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Contracts worth Rs5.11 billion awarded for next generation broadband
ISLAMABAD: The Universal Service Fund (USF) on Monday approved award of contracts to Telenor, Zong, Ufone and PTCL worth Rs5.11 billion through the Next Generation Broadband for Sustainable Development program and the Next Generation Optical Fiber Network and Services program.
Federal Secretary Ministry of IT and Telecommunication Shoaib Ahmad Siddiqui chaired 74th Board of Directors meeting of Universal Service Fund (USF) on Monday.
PTCL is being awarded the contract of Kashmore, Ghotki, Sukkur and Khairpur districts in the province of Sindh.
The Next Generation Optical Fiber Network and Services projects worth approximately Rs3 billion is aimed at laying of 1078 km of Optical Fiber Cable to connect 140 villages and union councils thereby providing high speed mobile broadband services to an unserved population of approximately 4.7 million.
Moreover, the Board also approved award of contracts under the Next Generation Broadband for Sustainable Development Program worth Rs2 billion to Telenor, Zong and Ufone.
Telenor is being awarded the contract of Chitral, Upper Dir and Lower Dir districts in the province Khyber Pakhtunkhwa whereby an unserved population of around 0.7 million will benefit from high speed mobile broadband services in 648 unserved villages and an approximate unserved area of 18,212 sq. km.
Likewise, Zong is being awarded the contract of Karachi West and Malir districts in the province of Sindh that will benefit an unserved population of approximately 0.1 million in 36 unserved villages and approximately 690 sq. km of unserved area.
Similarly, Ufone is being awarded the contract of Mastung and Ziarat districts in the province of Balochistan to serve an unserved population of approximately 0.1 million in 226 unserved villages and an approximate unserved area of 6,324 sq. km.
During the meeting, Federal Secretary Ministry of IT and Telecommunication, Shoaib Ahmad Siddiqui said that as advised by the Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication, Syed Amin Ul Haque, the basic purpose of these projects is not only to promote tourism infrastructure of the country but also to connect rural population with the digital world.
He also said that the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication is leaving no stone unturned to provide broadband services to every Pakistani and accomplish Digital Pakistan vision; therefore, people should remain hopeful that such development interventions will reach them soon as well.
Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer of USF, Haaris Mahmood Chaudhary briefed the Board members about the projects. He thanked the Federal Minister, Syed Amin Ul Haque, the Federal Secretary and Chairman of USF Board, Shoaib Ahmad Siddiqui and the Board members for entrusting him. He stated that USF ensures merit, transparency and timely completion of projects.
Furthermore, he added that USF’s contribution to Digital Pakistan vision remains distinguished. Other board members comprising Maj. Gen (R) Amir Azeem Bajwa, Chairman PTA; Shabahat Ali Shah, CEO-NITB; Irfan Wahab, CEO-Telenor Pakistan; Imran Akhtar Shah, VP for Government Sales, Super Net Pvt Ltd and Nominee of Data Licensees; Rashid Khan, CEO-PTCL and Nominee of Fixed Line Operators; Kaukab Iqbal, Chairman-Consumer Association of Pakistan and Nominee of Consumer Group; Muhamad Omar Malik, Member- Telecom and management of USF Co. also attended the meeting.
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Import of mobile phones allowed Rs23.15 billion as tax concession
ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) issued details of sales tax concessions to the tune of Rs23.15 billion granted on import mobile phones.
The FBR issued the cost of allowing reduced rate of sales tax on the import of cellular phones during fiscal year 2020.
FBR sources said that the beneficiaries of sales tax concessions were importer and general public.
Following table explains head wise cost of sales tax concession on import different type of mobile phones;
S. No. Value of mobile phones Sales tax concession 1 Cellular mobile phones (not exceeding US$ 30) Rs2,424 million 2 Cellular mobile phones (exceeding US$ 30 but not exceeding US$ 100) Rs 10,032 million 3 Cellular mobile phones (exceeding US$ 100 but not exceeding US$ 200) Rs5,764 million 4 Cellular mobile phones (exceeding US$ 200 but not exceeding US$ 350) Rs 1,239 million 5 Cellular mobile phones (exceeding US$ 350 but not exceeding US$ 500) Rs 56 million 6 Cellular mobile phones (Exceeding US$ 500) Rs 731 million 7 Cellular mobile phones (PTA – DIRBS) Rs2,908 million -
Mobile phone imports jump up 94 percent in July – September
Pakistan’s mobile phone imports witnessed a significant surge of 94 percent during the first quarter (July–September) of the fiscal year 2020/2021, according to figures released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Saturday. The country imported mobile phones worth Rs82 billion in this period, a sharp rise from the Rs42 billion recorded in the same quarter of the previous fiscal year.
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IT Ministry, Microsoft to explore investment avenues
ISLAMABAD: The ministry of Information Technology and Microsoft to explore avenues for investment in Pakistan to support employment generation.
A statement said that Country Director of Microsoft for Pakistan, Shahzad Khan, called on Federal Secretary Ministry of IT and Telecommunication Shoaib Ahmad Siddiqui on Friday.
Secretary IT welcomed the Microsoft Country Director in his office, and various digital initiatives and avenues for collaboration were discussed during meeting.
Secretary MoITT acknowledged the support extended by Microsoft during COVID 19.
It was discussed during the meeting that possible investment avenues will be explored towards establishing support centers, cloud infrastructure and training programs. Such collaboration between MoITT and Microsoft will help Pakistan in employment generation.
Country Director of Microsoft appreciated the initiatives taken by Ministry of IT and Telecommunication to enhance digital outreach in Pakistan according to the vision of Digital Pakistan.
He also expressed his willingness to collaborate with Government of Pakistan on different technological initiatives.
The meeting was concluded with a note that further engagements with Microsoft will be made to explore opportunities for enhancing mutual collaboration.
The meeting was also attended by Member IT Syed Junaid Imam and Director IT.
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Mobile phone operators deduct only applicable tax rates: PTA
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on Friday said that the Cellular Mobile Operators (CMOs) are deducting only applicable rates of taxes after the restoration of levies by Supreme Court of Pakistan.
In a statement, with reference to taxes applied on the recharge/reload of prepaid balance, the PTA said that the CMOs are deducting only withholding tax and general sales tax/federal excise duty on the prepaid recharge/reload after restoration of taxes by the Supreme Court of Pakistan from April 2019.
The PTA said that on the recharge of Rs200 balance provided to the user is Rs177.778 (and not Rs152 as reported on the social media) after deduction of Rs22.22 against withholding tax at 12.5 percent.
General Sales Tax at 19.5 percent is applied on per call, SMS, data usage basis or opting for any additional bundle/package.
“When a user consumes its remaining balance of Rs177.778, a total of Rs29.01 as GST is charged,” the PTA said.
In the same way, if a package is priced at Rs167 (without GST), the same, requires a prepaid balance of Rs199.56 (Price+GST=Rs167+Rs32.56). Due to lack of clarity on the deduction of GST in addition to withholding tax, mobile subscribers are assuming that CMOs are charging well above applicable taxes, which is not correct, the PTA said.
The PTA further said that it had fixed a ceiling on call setup charges at Re 0.15 per call. PTA is vigilant about the rates/tariffs being charged by CMOs and action will be initiated on any reported incidence of charging above the published tariffs and applicable taxes in accordance with the law, it added.
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PTA asks TikTok to block immoral content
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has asked administration of TikTok platform to block/remove immoral and vulgar content for viewership in Pakistan.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the telecom authority asked TikTok platform to immediately block vulgar, inducement, immoral, nude content for viewership in Pakistan.
The PTA has done so keeping in view the negative effects of indecent/immoral/nude content available on the platform.
The PTA has approached TikTok to immediately ensure blocking of objectionable contect and to prevent the usage of its platform for disseminating illegal content.
In addition, the platform has been directed to put in place an effective content monitoring and moderation mechanism to proactively remove indecent/ immoral content failing which necessary action will be taken under the law.
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Mobile phones worth Rs51.24 billion imported in July – August
KARACHI: The country has imported mobile phones worth Rs51.24 billion during first two months of current fiscal year due to rising digital services in the wake of coronavirus pandemic.
The import of mobile phone grew by 98 percent to Rs51.24 billion during July – August 2020 as compared with Rs25.9 billion in the same period of the last year.
Industry sources said that demand of mobile phones grew significantly during the lockdown for various purposes including financial services.
The import of mobile phones was Rs32.45 billion August 2020 as compared with Rs13.47 billion in the same month of the last year, showing 97 percent growth.
The import of mobile phone in terms of US dollar also registered 87.37 percent increase to $306.38 million during first two months of current fiscal year as compared with $163.52 million in the corresponding months of the last fiscal year.
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Mobile phones worth Rs24.7 billion imported in July 2020
KARACHI: The country has imported mobile phones worth Rs24.7 billion in the month of July 2020, which is almost double than the import value in the same month of the last year, official data revealed.
According to data released by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Wednesday the import of mobile phone increased by 98 percent as the country imported mobile phone worth Rs12.42 billion in the same month of the last year.
The import value in US dollar term was $148 million in July 2020 as compared with $78.29 million in the corresponding month of the last year, showing an increase of 89 percent.
Market sources attributed the rise in import of mobile phones to huge demand during lockdown and after ease in lockdown due to rising financial transactions through mobile phones.
They also attributed the significant growth in rupee term due to depreciation of local currency. The average exchange rate in July 2020 was at Rs166.76 to the dollar as compared with Rs158.82 to the dollar in July 2019.
Further, the market sources said that the government has provided relief through duty and taxes on import of mobile phones to promote financial inclusion.