Faisal Moiz Khan, the President of the North Karachi Association of Trade & Industry (NKATI), has expressed deep concerns regarding the recent surge in domestic petroleum prices.
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Pakistan raises petrol price to record high at Rs160/liter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday sharply increased the price of petrol to a new record high level at around Rs160 per liter in the wake of surge in international oil prices.
According to a statement issued by the Finance Division, the government has announced a massive increase in all the petroleum products effective from February 16, 2022.
READ MORE; Petroleum prices kept unchanged for next fortnight
The government increased the rate of petrol by Rs12.03 to Rs159.86 from Rs147.83. The rate of high speed diesel has been enhanced by Rs9.53 to Rs154.15 from Rs144.62. The government increased the price of kerosene oil by Rs10.08 to Rs126.56 from Rs116.48. Similarly, the rate of light diesel oil has been increased b Rs9.43 to Rs123.97 from Rs114.54.
READ MORE: Pakistan’s petrol price rises to record high at Rs147.83
The finance division in the press release said that the price of petroleum products were showing drastic increase in the international markets and presently are at the highest level since 2014.
“Despite the unabated increase since the beginning of the year, Prime Minister Imran Khan deferred the last review of petroleum products prices on January 31, 2022 and advised against the summary of Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA).”
READ MORE: Prices of all POL products increased to wish New Year
In order to provide utmost relief to the consumers, the government levied zero per cent sales tax and reduced petroleum levy rate against the budgeted targets.
Resultantly, the government is bearing the revenue loss of Rs35 billion (fortnightly) on account of budgeted to existing petroleum levy and sales tax rates.
READ MORE: Petrol price reduces to Rs140.82 per liter
The finance division said that in the fortnightly review of petroleum products prices, the Prime Minister has considered the recommendations to increase the prices of petroleum products in line with change in the international oil prices. “Despite the increase in the prices of petroleum products, petroleum levy and sales tax have been kept to the minimum,” it added.
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FBR announces sharp cut in sales tax on POL products
ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has announced sharp cut in sales tax on supply of petroleum products.
The FBR on Thursday issued SRO 183(I)/2022 to reduce the sales tax against normal rate of 17 per cent.
The revenue body previously issued SRO 88(I)/2022 dated January 18, 2022 to change the sales tax rates.
READ MORE: FBR slashes sales tax rates on petrol, HSD
According to the SRO 183(I)/2022, the sales tax rate on light diesel oil has been slashed to zero percent from previous 2.7 per cent.
The sales tax rate on petrol has been reduced to 0.79 per cent from 2.5 per cent. Similarly, the sales tax on high speed diesel has been reduced to 3.17 per cent from 5.44 per cent.
The sales tax rate on kerosene oil has been slashed to 5.30 per cent from 8.30 per cent.
READ MORE: Pakistan’s petrol price rises to record high at Rs147.83
The federal government had deferred the increase in prices of petroleum products for next fortnight starting February 01, 2022. A statement issued by the Finance Division stated that the petroleum products were showing substantial increase in the international market and presently trading at highest level since 2014.
The oil prices have witnessed an increase of 14.5 per cent just in January 2022 in the global market. The existing sales tax rate and Petroleum Levy on various petroleum products are much below the budgeted targets.
READ MORE: Prices of all POL products increased to wish New Year
The government is bearing the revenue loss of around Rs30 billion (fortnightly) on account of budgeted to existing petroleum levy and sales tax rates and Rs 260 billion annually due to reduced sales tax rate.
Despite revenue losses due to rising petroleum prices globally, the Prime Minister of Pakistan has deferred the proposal by OGRA to increase up to Rs. 16.79/Litre in the petroleum product prices and desired that petroleum product prices shall remain the same from 1st February, 2022 as notified earlier on January 15, 2022 for providing maximum relief to the general public.
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PM Imran, Chinese President reaffirm resolve to build community for shared future
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan met Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of People in Beijing on Sunday. The two leaders reaffirmed their resolve to building of the Pakistan-China Community for Shared Future in the New Era.
The Prime Minister renewed his invitation to President Xi Jinping to undertake a visit to Pakistan at his early convenience.
This was the first meeting of the two leaders since the Prime Minister’s visit to China in October 2019.
READ MORE: Pakistan, China discuss bilateral economic, trade ties
The two leaders reviewed the entire gamut of Pakistan-China bilateral cooperation and exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest, in a warm and cordial atmosphere.
Prime Minister Imran Khan congratulated the leadership and people of China on successful hosting of the 24th Olympic Winter Games in Beijing and extended his best wishes on the Chinese Lunar New Year.
The Prime Minister underscored that China was Pakistan’s steadfast partner, staunch supporter and Iron Brother. The All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership between Pakistan and China had withstood the tests of times and the two nations firmly stood side by side in realizing their visions and shared aspirations of peace, stability, development and prosperity.
READ MORE: PM Imran invites Chinese companies to invest in Pakistan
The Prime Minister briefed President Xi on people-centered geo-economics vision and his Government’s policies for Pakistan’s sustained growth, industrial development, agricultural modernization, and regional connectivity.
He lauded China’s continued support and assistance to Pakistan’s socio-economic development which had greatly benefitted from the high quality development of CPEC.
The Prime Minister welcomed increased Chinese investments in CPEC’s Phase-II which centered on industrialization and improving people’s livelihoods. The Prime Minister shared his views with President Xi on growing polarization in the world which threatened unraveling of global developmental gains, and posed serious risks to the developing countries.
He highlighted that insurmountable challenges like climate change, health pandemics and growing inequalities could only be tackled though unqualified cooperation of all nations in accordance with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.
In this regard, he lauded President Xi’s visionary Belt and Road and Global Development Initiatives which called for collective action for sustainable development and win-win outcomes.
The Prime Minister highlighted that atrocities being perpetrated in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, and the persecution of minorities in India in advancing the Hindutva mindset of RSS-BJP, was a threat to regional peace and stability.
He added that rapid militarization of India was undermining regional stability.
Prime Minister Imran Khan highlighted that partnership between Pakistan and China was an anchor for peace and stability in the region and thanked China for its unwavering support to Pakistan’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, independence and national development.
The Prime Minister also reaffirmed Pakistan’s full support to China on all issues of its core interest. Both leaders acknowledged that a peaceful and stable Afghanistan would promote economic development and connectivity in the region and called on the international community to promptly assist the Afghan people in averting a humanitarian catastrophe.
Both leaders appreciated the signing of a number of agreements covering industrial cooperation, space cooperation, and vaccine cooperation.
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Pakistan, China discuss bilateral economic, trade ties
BEIJING: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan held wide-ranging talks with Li Keqiang, Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China on Saturday.
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Prime Minister Imran kicks off visit to China
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday kicked off a four-day visit to China. Prime Minister Imran will attend the ceremony of Winter Olympics and meet the Chinese leadership.
The prime minister’s delegation included Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin, Planning Minister Asad Umar, Information Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, National Security Adviser Dr Moeed Yousaf, Commerce Adviser Abdul Razak Dawood and Special Assistant on China Pakistan Economic Corridor Khalid Mansoor.
READ MORE: PM Imran terms exports, tax collection must for growth
The prime minister besides attending the ceremony of Beijing Winter Olympics will meet President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang.
Prior to departure, the accompanying ministers termed the prime minister’s visit to China of great significance.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said PM Khan’s meeting with the Chinese leadership would focus on bilateral strategic partnership, regional matters, and peace and security in South Asia.
READ MORE: PM Imran Khan announces food subsidy package
Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin said the prime minister during the visit would propose the Chinese leadership to relocate their industry in Pakistan’s Special Economic Zones for a win-win situation besides extending assistance in agriculture.
National Security Adviser Dr Moeed Yousaf said the visit would provide an opportunity to discuss ways to improve peace in Afghanistan to end terrorism.
READ MORE: PM Imran launches landmark Karachi BRTS project
Commerce Adviser Dawood said the meetings would the Chinese counterparts would focus on some areas of Free Trade Agreement and trade of cement, rice, fruit and vegetables.
During the visit of PM Khan, a book titled ‘China Pakistan Economic Corridor – Investment Opportunities in Pakistan’ will be presented to the Chinese president, premier and investors.
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Petroleum prices kept unchanged for next fortnight
ISLAMABAD: The government has kept the prices of petroleum products unchanged for next fortnight on Monday after Prime Minister Imran Khan rejected the proposals to hike the POL prices.
Prime Minister Imran Khan Monday rejected proposals to increase the petrol price by Rs 10 per liter and diesel by Rs 14, in the national interest.
READ MORE: Pakistan’s petrol price rises to record high at Rs147.83
The prime minister said that government would bear the burden of the price hike this time to protect the people from the additional economic burden.
READ MORE: Prices of all POL products increased to wish New Year
As the government was striving to avert the burden of inflation from the people, therefore the prime minister deferred the Energy Ministry’s summary despite the fact that the oil prices were increasing worldwide owing to the swelling global inflation.
Following the decision, the prices of petroleum products will be maintained at: petrol Rs147.83 per liter; high speed diesel (HSD) Rs144.62 per liter; kerosene Rs116.48 per liter; and light diesel oil at Rs114.54 per liter.
READ MORE: Petrol price reduces to Rs140.82 per liter
A statement issued by the Finance Division stated that the petroleum products are showing substantial increase in the international market and presently trading at highest level since 2014. The oil prices have witnessed an increase of 14.5% just in last month in the global market.
The existing Sales Tax rate and Petroleum Levy on various petroleum products are much below the budgeted targets. The Government is bearing the revenue loss of around Rs.30 billion (fortnightly) on account of budgeted to existing PL and ST rates and Rs. 260 billion annually due to reduced ST rate.
READ MORE: Govt. keeps petroleum prices unchanged
Despite revenue losses due to rising petroleum prices globally, the Prime Minister of Pakistan has deferred the proposal by OGRA to increase up to Rs. 16.79/Litre in the petroleum product prices and desired that petroleum product prices shall remain the same from 1st February, 2020 as notified earlier on 15th January, 2022 for providing maximum relief to the general public. The Prime Minister has further desired to keep the prices at the same level through adjustments in Sales Tax, if required.
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January headline inflation may clock near 13%
KARACHI: The headline inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) may clock near 13 per cent for the month of January 2022.
Analysts at Arif Habib Limited forecast that January 2022 inflation to settle at 12.97 per cent Year on Year (YoY) compared to 5.65 per cent in January 2021 and 12.28 per cent in December 2021, respectively.
This will take the average inflation to 10.24 per cent during first seven months (July – January) 2021/2022 compared to 8.21 per cent in corresponding months of the last fiscal year.
READ MORE: Mini-budget likely to push up inflation: SBP
The YoY uptick in CPI will likely be led by Food (12.5 per cent YoY), Clothing & Footwear (13.3 per cent YoY), Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (2.2 per cent YoY), Housing (15.0 per cent YoY), House Hold Equipment (13.5 per cent YoY) and Miscellaneous (9.4 per cent YoY).
The analysts predicted that on a Month on Month (MoM) basis, CPI reading to increase 0.4 per cent. While Housing and Transport index are likely to keep MoM inflation up, food index is expected to decline 0.7 per cent MoM.
This is the second consecutive MoM decline in food index in the current fiscal year.
READ MORE: Headline inflation rises by 12.3% in December 2021
As per Sensitive Price Index (SPI) data published by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), average prices of Potatoes, Tomatoes and Condiments and Spices are expected to register a decline of 13 per cent, 35 per cent and 21 per cent MoM, respectively which will keep the food index contained.
On the other hand, prices of essential food items like Fresh Fruits and Onions are expected to increase 8 per cent MoM and 5 per cent MoM, respectively. However, quarterly adjustment in House rent and increase in petroleum products will keep the Housing index and Transport Index up 0.5 per cent MoM and 1.9 per cent MoM, respectively.
READ MORE: Headline inflation surges by 11.5% in November 2021
Inflation has witnessed slowdown recently with supply-side pressures from food showing a decline and core-inflation still under control. However, going forward we expect inflation to remain in check on account of adjustments in electricity price (base tariff hike-which is expected in phased manner), any increase in prices of petroleum products owing to higher international oil prices and surge in prices of perishable and nonperishable food items in the month of Ramadan.
The analysts expect average inflation for FY22 to remain in double digit, above 10 per cent YoY. On monetary policy front, the SBP kept policy rate unchanged at 9.75 per cent in its recent January 2022 Monetary Policy Statement (MPS).
READ MORE: Headline inflation increases by 9.2% in October
The Committee no longer targets mildly positive interest rates as it believes the current levels appear appropriate for the economy.
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Rules amended on remittances on behalf of Hajj, Umrah organizers
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday amended instructions in Foreign Exchange Manual regarding remittances on behalf of Hajj group and Umrah organizers.
The SBP invited attention of banks and exchange companies to Para 45A and 45B, Chapter 17 (Travel) of Foreign Exchange Manual in terms of which banks and exchange companies are allowed to make advance remittances on behalf of the Hajj Group Organizers and the Umrah Organizers, subject to compliance of applicable terms and conditions.
READ MORE: SBP shortens period to 120 days for bringing export earnings
In order to streamline the instructions relating to advance payments by Hajj and Umrah Organizers, the sub-para (viii) of Para 45A and sub-para (viii) of Para 45B of Chapter 17 stand omitted.
The omitted instructions are:
READ MORE: SBP introduces licensing, regulations for digital banking
“viii) In the case of repatriation of advance payment, exchange gain, if any, will not be passed on to the HGO, rather the same will be deposited in favor of State Bank of Pakistan. To this effect, the Authorized Dealer should get consent/agreement signed by the concerned HGO at the time of effecting remittance. 7The exchange gain should be deposited in favor of the State Bank through RTGS Clearing Account No. 427518. In this respect, a consolidated statement regarding all such cases will be submitted by Head/Principal Offices of the Authorized Dealers to the Director, Foreign Exchange Operations Department, SBP-Banking Services Corporation on monthly basis as per prescribed format (Appendix V-141).”
READ MORE: SBP introduces Shariah compliant OMO injections
“viii) In case of repatriation of advance payment(s), exchange gain, if any, will not be passed on to the Umrah Organizer, rather the same will be deposited in favor of State Bank of Pakistan. To this effect, the Authorized Dealer should get consent/ agreement signed by the concerned Umrah Organizer. 9The exchange gain should be deposited in favor of the State Bank through RTGS Clearing Account No. 427518. In this respect, a consolidated statement regarding all such cases will be submitted by Head/Principal Offices of the Authorized Dealers to the Director, Foreign Exchange Operations Department, SBP-Banking Services Corporation on monthly basis as per prescribed format (Appendix V-143).”
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Customers get Rs709 million in complaints against banks
Banking customers have been provided relief of an amount of Rs709 million in complaints lodged against banks, according to a statement issued on Tuesday.
The Banking Mohtasib Pakistan (BMP) has provided relief amounting to Rs 709 million to the banking customers by disposing of 32,592 complaints during the year, 2021 out of 37,364 complaints which works out to about 87 per cent of the total complaints as compared to the year, 2020 wherein relief of Rs 598 million was provided to the banking customers by disposing of 21,360 complaints.
READ MORE: Mohtasib provides relief of Rs600 million in complaints against banks
According to the Annual report for the year 2021 of BMP which was released today 33,196 new complaints, including 18,762 complaints from Prime Minister’s portal, were received at BMP Secretariat in 2021 whereas 4167 of complaints were brought forward from the year, 2020.
An increase of about 46% was observed in the receipt of complaints at BMP during the year, 2021 as compared to the year, 2020. In-spite of Covid-19, Banking Mohtasib Pakistan Office has succeeded in maintaining the regular pace of disposing of complaints while adhering to the prescribed Covid-19 Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
READ MORE: Mohtasib receives 11,174 complaints against banks during six months
To keep pace with the technology and to meet the art of the technological product, BMP has embarked upon a project to upgrade the I.T. system and revamp its website.
This revamped website will contain an online complaint lodgment portal for general public which will be followed by launching of SMS service by sometime in June this year to keep them abreast with the status of their complaints.
READ MORE: Mohtasib receives 14,587 complaints against banks
With a view to protecting the people from fraudulent activities which are rampant now a days, the Banking Mohtasib, Mr. Kamran Shehzad has also emphasized on the banking customers that they should not disclose their personal and financial credentials to any third person. On receipt of suspicious calls they should immediately approach the nearest branch of their bank or contact the helpline of the bank, he added.
READ MORE: Complaints against banks surge by 51 percent: Banking Mohtasib