The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has announced the updated rates of withholding tax on the usage of telephone and internet services for the fiscal year 2021-2022.
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Explore IT and Telecom stories with Pakistan Revenue, your go-to source for the latest updates on Pakistan’s technology and telecom sector. Stay ahead with real-time industry insights and economic developments.
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Pakistan produces 12.27mn mobile phones in 7 months
ISLAMABAD: The number of locally manufactured mobile phones in Pakistan has surpassed 12 million during seven months (January – July) of 2021.
The local manufacturing of mobile phones has crossed the number of imported mobile phones in the same months of 2021.
A statement issued by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on Thursday regarding local production of mobile phones.
It said the production of mobile phones by local manufacturing plants was 12.27 million and the number of imported mobile phones was recorded at 8.29 million.
“This trend reflects a positive uptake on PTA’s Mobile Device Manufacturing (MDM) Authorization regulatory regime whereby local manufacturing within the first year of regime introduction has resulted in production of 12.27 million phones in a short span of seven months including 4.87 million 4G smart phones.”
The PTA said that successful implementation of Device Identification Registration and Blocking System (DRIBS) along with conducive government policies, including mobile manufacturing policy, has created a favorable environment for mobile manufacturing in Pakistan.
“It has also contributed positively to the mobile ecosystem of Pakistan by eliminating counterfeit device market providing a level playing field for commercial entities and has created trust amongst consumers due to the formulation of standardized legal channels for all sort of device import.”
The PTA said that the government had introduced a comprehensive mobile manufacturing policy to encourage and attract manufacturers to establish their units in Pakistan.
The telecom authority in light of the policy issued Mobile Device Manufacturing (MDM) Regulations on January 28, 2021. “Till now, 26 companies have been issued MDM authorization enabling them to manufacture mobile devices in Pakistan.”
The companies include renowned brands e.g. Samsung, Nokia, Oppo, TECNO, Infinix, Vgotel, Q-mobile etc.
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Engro enhances telecom investment to Rs21.5 billion
KARACHI: Engro Corporation has announced to enhance its total equity investment in the telecom infrastructure vertical to Rs21.5 billion.
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IPS, Inovatian-Asia sign MoU for capacity building
ISLAMABAD: the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), Islamabad and Inovatian-Asia (Private) Limited have signed an agreement to carry out joint capacity building programs.
Inovatian-Asia (Private) Limited, a sister concern of international technology firm Inovatian Inc. with offices in Canada, UK, USA and Egypt, which was founded by renowned scientist and innovator Dr Hatim Zaghoul.
Zaghloul is known for his inventions, along with his friend Dr Michel Fattouche, of WiFi, WiMax and LTE’s WOFDM and the complex randomization of CDMA2000 and MCDSSS protocols widely used in telecom sector across the world.
The company also specialized in 6G telephony solutions, cyber security, and data solutions.
Naufil Shahrukh, general manager operations of IPS, and Farzana Yaqoob, CEO, Inovatian-Asia signed the MoU during the ceremony.
Khalid Rahman, chairman, IPS, Kashif Siddiqui, director, Inovatian-Asia, Professor Dr Adeel Akram, department of telecommunications, University of Engineering & Technology (UET), Taxila, Shafaq Sarfraz, manager outreach and IPS-LEAD (Learning, Excellence, and Development Program), and other officials of both the organizations were also present.
The MoU aims to foster cooperation between the two organizations to carry out joint capacity-building programs, disseminate research and analysis, foster dialogue among scholars, experts, scientists, and policymakers, and develop indigenous, state-of-the-art ICT (Information and Communication Technology) resources and solutions in Pakistan and the Muslim world.
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Pakistan exports mobile phones to UAE
ISLAMABAD: A consignment of around 5,500 mobile phones carrying tag ‘manufactured in Pakistan’ has been exported the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a statement said.
The statement issued by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) said that its authorization holder Inovi Telecom has started exporting smart phones to other countries.
The first consignment of 5500 units of 4G smart phones carrying ‘Manufactured in Pakistan’ tag has been exported to UAE.
PTA congratulates the company for this landmark achievement. This is the result of concerted efforts for the development of mobile device manufacturing ecosystem in the country.
The successful implementation of Device Identification Registration and Blocking System (DIRBS) and enabling government policies including the Mobile Manufacturing Policy have created a favorable environment for mobile device manufacturing in Pakistan.
As a part of this policy, Inovi Telecom Pvt. Ltd was issued mobile manufacturing authorization by PTA on April 9, 2021. Within 4 months, the company has managed to achieve exporting.
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Telenor gets contract for providing broadband services
ISLAMABAD: Telenor Pakistan has been awarded contract worth Rs555 million for providing mobile broadband services in various districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
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Tarin assures support for e-commerce industry growth
ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin on Thursday reaffirmed the government’s strong commitment to the expansion and facilitation of the e-Commerce sector in Pakistan, viewing it as a key driver of future economic growth and digital transformation.
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WhatsApp launches new features for photos, videos
KARACHI: WhatsApp has introduced new features including View Once photos and videos that disappear from the chat after they have been opened. These features will give users even more control over their privacy, a statement issued said on Wednesday.
For example, you might send a View Once photo of some new clothes you’re trying on at a store, a quick reaction to a moment in time, or something sensitive like a Wi-Fi password.
As with all the personal messages you send on WhatsApp, View Once media is protected by end-to-end encryption so WhatsApp cannot see them. They will also be clearly marked with a new “one-time” icon.
After the media has been viewed, the message will appear as “opened” to avoid any confusion about what was happening in the chat at the time.
While taking photos or videos on our phones has become such a big part of our lives, not everything we share needs to become a permanent digital record. On many phones, simply taking a photo means it will take up space in your camera roll forever.
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Telecard Limited becomes Shariah compliant company
KARACHI: Al-Hilal Shariah Advisors (Pvt.) Limited has approved Telecard Limited for qualifying Shariah compliant company, a notification said on Friday.
It said that Al-Hilal Shariah Advisors (Pvt.) Limited had conducted Shariah Compliance Screening of Telecard Limited based on the financial statements of March 31, 2021.
“We have thoroughly analyzed the financial statement on the basis of various Shariah screening criteria issued by our Shariah Supervisory Council.”
In light of the information provided and our evaluation, we found that the company has passed the 4 out of 5 shariah screening filter while 1 filter i.e. Illiquid Assets to Total Assets ratio is slightly below the desired threshold level, it said.
The Shariah Supervisory Council of Al Hilal Shariah Advisors concluded that the issue considerable illiquid assets remain a problem for services sector companies, since they do not have considerable illiquid assets because of their nature of business and Asset light model and this becomes a hurdle for Shariah compliance clearance for such companies.
In this regard, the Shariah Supervisory Council of Al Hilal Shariah Advisors recommends that the illiquid Assets to Total Assets ratio may not be considered while evaluating shariah compliance for such service providing companies given that the company financials meet the other desired criteria.
As per the above statement, the Shariah Board has approved the company to be Shariah Compliant.
Hence it is resolved that it is permissible to invest in shares of Telecard Limited.
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Tax rates on usage of telephone and internet
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) collects withholding income tax on telephone and internet usage under Section 236 of Income Tax Ordinance, 2001.
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