The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has officially announced the promotion of three officers from the Inland Revenue Service (IRS) to the highest rank of BS-22.
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Sending foreign exchange overseas for trading illegal: SBP
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has said that sending foreign exchange outside Pakistan to overseas foreign exchange trading through any payment channel is not allowed.
The SBP in a circular issued May 18, 2022 said that it had been observed a number of offshore foreign exchange trading, margin trading and contract for difference (CFD) trading websites/apps/platforms (such as OctaFX, Easy Forex, etc.) are offering their products to residents in Pakistan, luring public through social media advertisements to buy their products/services. Such buying by residents of Pakistan is a violation of section 4(1) of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) 1947.
READ MORE: SBP makes permission must for import of mobile phone, cars
Further, it has also been observed that banks are facilitating settlement/ payments through their payment channels to such offshore trading platforms.
The SBP clarified that remittance of foreign exchange directly/ indirectly outside Pakistan to overseas foreign exchange trading, margin trading, and CFD trading apps/ websites/ platforms through any payment channel is not allowed as no general or special permission has been granted by the State Bank under section 5(1) of the FERA.
READ MORE: SBP may raise policy rate by 100bps to 13.25%
The central bank invited attention of banks towards section 4(1) of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act 1947 (FERA), which provides, “except with the previous general or special permission of the State Bank, no person other than an authorized dealer shall in Pakistan, and no person resident in Pakistan other than an authorized dealer shall outside Pakistan, buy or borrow from, or sell or lend to, or exchange with, any person not being an authorized dealer, any foreign exchange”.
Further, banks attention is also invited towards section 5((1(a)) of the FERA which provides, “Save as may be provided in and in accordance with any general or special exemption from the provisions of this sub-section which may be granted conditionally or unconditionally by the State Bank, no person in, or resident in, Pakistan shall— (a) make any payment to or for the credit of any person resident outside Pakistan”.
READ MORE: Pakistan’s forex reserves fall to $16.37 billion
In view of the foregoing, banks are advised to ensure compliance of aforesaid sections of the FERA and take all necessary measures, including the following, to stop payments to all such forex trading, CFD trading, margin trading websites/apps/platforms by their customers through any payment channel:
— Inform their customers regarding inherent risks and illegality of such trading with any such person/entity.
— Institute a mechanism of ongoing monitoring whereby such trading websites/ apps/ platforms are identified and blocked from making payments through any payment channel.
READ MORE: Current account deficit swells to $13.78 bn in 10 months
In case it is observed that a bank has failed to carry out the measures and has facilitated the transactions as outlined above, the State Bank of Pakistan may proceed against that delinquent Authorized Dealer under relevant provisions of the FERA and take any pecuniary or administrative action as deemed necessary.
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SBP makes permission must for import of mobile phone, cars
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has imposed condition for payment on import of mobile phones and motor cars.
The SBP issued a circular related import goods making it mandatory for banks to take prior permission for releasing funds for import of motor cars, mobile phones and other machinery.
READ MORE: SBP may raise policy rate by 100bps to 13.25%
In this regard the SBP informed the banks about Chapter 13 of the Foreign Exchange Manual relating to payments against import of goods.
The SBP decided that with immediate effect, the banks would require prior permission from Foreign Exchange Operations Department (FEOD), SBP-BSC before initiating transactions for import of goods listed in the enclosed Annexure, subject to following conditions:
READ MORE: Banks increasing dollar rates; FAP tells Prime Minister
The above requirement shall be applicable for all import transactions initiated by Authorized Dealers through (i) issuance/ amendment of letter of credit; (ii) registration/ amendment of contract; (iii) making advance payment; (iv) authorizing transactions on open account or collections basis;
The above requirement shall not be applicable on import transactions initiated by the Authorized Dealers on or before the date of issuance of this circular letter;
Authorized Dealers may approach Director, FEOD, SBP-BSC, Head Office, Karachi, along with appropriate documents and its recommendation on a case to case basis;
READ MORE: SBP governor assumes charge of Asian Clearing Union
Authorized Dealers shall be required to suitably amend the importer’s bank profile in Pakistan Single Window to ensure that the aforementioned import transaction shall not be initiated on open account basis without prior permission from State Bank.
All other instructions on the subject shall remain unchanged. Authorized Dealers are advised to bring the same to the knowledge of all the concerned and ensure meticulous compliance of the above & other applicable regulations on the subject. Authorized Dealers are especially instructed to bring these instructions to the knowledge of their customers and advise them to approach the bank before initiation of import transaction of any item covered under this circular letter.
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Current account deficit swells to $13.78 bn in 10 months
KARACHI: Pakistan’s current account deficit swelled to $13.78 billion during first 10 months (July – April) of the current fiscal year 2021/2022, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Friday May 20, 2022.
The balance of payment (BoP) witnessed a deficit of $543 million in the same period of the last fiscal year.
READ MORE: Pakistan’s CAD hit $13.17 billion in July – March
The balance of trade posted a deficit of $32.95 billion during the first 10 months of the current fiscal year as compared with the deficit of $22 billion.
The total trade deficit in both goods and services ballooned to $36.52 billion as compared with the deficit of $24.11 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.
READ MORE: Pakistan’s CAD mounts to $12 billion in eight months
Balance of primary income recorded a deficit of $41.05 billion during the period under review as compared with $27.83 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.
READ MORE: Current account deficit widens to $11.58 bn in 7MFY22
The inflows of workers’ remittances increased to $26.08 billion during July – April 2021/2022 as compared with $24.23 billion in the same period of the last fiscal year.
The current account deficit narrowed to $623 million in April 2022 as compared with $1.02 billion in March 2022. The current account deficit in April 2021 was $268 million.
READ MORE: Pakistan’s current account deficit balloons to $9.1 bn
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Dollar touches new peak at Rs200.14
KARACHI: The US dollar gained 14 paisas against the Pakistan Rupee (PKR) to make new peak at Rs200.14 at interbank foreign exchange market on Friday.
The exchange rate was closed at Rs200 to the dollar a day earlier in interbank foreign exchange market.
READ MORE: Dollar hits record Rs200 at interbank trading
Currency experts said that massive fall in foreign exchange reserves and high import payments were the major reasons behind rupee fall.
Further, delay in IMF tranche of $1 billion after the government decision not to remove subsidy on fuel prices, put further pressure on the exchange rate.
READ MORE: Dollar makes new high Rs198.39 at interbank closing
Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves fell by $177 million to $16.376 billion by the week ended May 6, 2022. The foreign exchange reserves of the country were $16.553 billion by week ended April 30, 2022.
The country’s foreign exchange reserves hit record high at $27.228 billion by the week ended August 27, 2021. Since then the foreign exchange reserves have depleted by $10.852 billion.
READ MORE: Dollar peaks at Rs195.50 at midday interbank trading
The official reserves of the State Bank witnessed a decline of $190 million to $10.309 billion by the week ended May 6, 2022 as compared with $10.499 billion a week ago.
The SBP reserves reached a record high at $20.145 billion by August 27, 2021. The official reserves also fell by $9.836 billion after reaching record high. The official reserves of the SBP have been reduced to provide import payment cover for only 1.56 months.
READ MORE: Dollar makes new high Rs195.75 at interbank closing
The import bill of the country surged by 46.41 per cent to $65.49 billion during the first 10 months of the current fiscal year as compared with $44.73 billion in the corresponding months of the last fiscal year.
Pakistan is a net importer of petroleum products to meet its domestic demand. The country’s oil bill was $14.81 billion during the first nine months (July – March) 2021/2022 as compared with $7.55 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year, showing a massive growth of 96 per cent. The oil bill is around 25 per cent of the total import bill of the country.
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Dollar hits record Rs200 at interbank trading
KARACHI: The US dollar gained Rs1.61 against the Pakistan Rupee (PKR) to make new peak at Rs200 at interbank foreign exchange market on Thursday.
The exchange rate was closed at Rs198.39 to the dollar a day earlier in interbank foreign exchange market.
READ MORE: Dollar makes new high Rs198.39 at interbank closing
Currency experts said that massive fall in foreign exchange reserves and high import payments were the major reasons behind rupee fall.
Further, delay in IMF tranche of $1 billion after the government decision not to remove subsidy on fuel prices, put further pressure on the exchange rate.
READ MORE: Dollar peaks at Rs195.50 at midday interbank trading
Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves fell by $177 million to $16.376 billion by the week ended May 6, 2022. The foreign exchange reserves of the country were $16.553 billion by week ended April 30, 2022.
The country’s foreign exchange reserves hit record high at $27.228 billion by the week ended August 27, 2021. Since then the foreign exchange reserves have depleted by $10.852 billion.
READ MORE: Dollar makes new high Rs195.75 at interbank closing
The official reserves of the State Bank witnessed a decline of $190 million to $10.309 billion by the week ended May 6, 2022 as compared with $10.499 billion a week ago.
The SBP reserves reached a record high at $20.145 billion by August 27, 2021. The official reserves also fell by $9.836 billion after reaching record high. The official reserves of the SBP have been reduced to provide import payment cover for only 1.56 months.
READ MORE: SBP may raise policy rate by 100bps to 13.25%
The import bill of the country surged by 46.41 per cent to $65.49 billion during the first 10 months of the current fiscal year as compared with $44.73 billion in the corresponding months of the last fiscal year.
Pakistan is a net importer of petroleum products to meet its domestic demand. The country’s oil bill was $14.81 billion during the first nine months (July – March) 2021/2022 as compared with $7.55 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year, showing a massive growth of 96 per cent. The oil bill is around 25 per cent of the total import bill of the country.
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Dollar makes new high Rs198.39 at interbank closing
KARACHI: The US dollar gained Rs2.64 against the Pakistan Rupee (PKR) to make new record high at Rs198.39 by end of trading at interbank foreign exchange market on Wednesday.
The exchange rate was closed at Rs198.39 to the dollar, which was the previous high of the dollar, a day earlier in interbank foreign exchange market.
READ MORE: Dollar makes new high Rs195.75 at interbank closing
Currency experts said that massive fall in foreign exchange reserves and high import payments were the major reasons behind rupee fall. Further, delay in IMF tranche of $1 billion after the government decision not to remove subsidy on fuel prices, put further pressure on the exchange rate.
Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves fell by $177 million to $16.376 billion by the week ended May 6, 2022. The foreign exchange reserves of the country were $16.553 billion by week ended April 30, 2022.
The country’s foreign exchange reserves hit record high at $27.228 billion by the week ended August 27, 2021. Since then the foreign exchange reserves have depleted by $10.852 billion.
READ MORE: Dollar makes fresh high at Rs194.18 at interbank closing
The official reserves of the State Bank witnessed a decline of $190 million to $10.309 billion by the week ended May 6, 2022 as compared with $10.499 billion a week ago.
The SBP reserves reached a record high at $20.145 billion by August 27, 2021. The official reserves also fell by $9.836 billion after reaching record high. The official reserves of the SBP have been reduced to provide import payment cover for only 1.56 months.
The import bill of the country surged by 46.41 per cent to $65.49 billion during the first 10 months of the current fiscal year as compared with $44.73 billion in the corresponding months of the last fiscal year.
READ MORE: Rupee falls for 8th straight day; dollar hits Rs192.53
Pakistan is a net importer of petroleum products to meet its domestic demand. The country’s oil bill was $14.81 billion during the first nine months (July – March) 2021/2022 as compared with $7.55 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year, showing a massive growth of 96 per cent. The oil bill is around 25 per cent of the total import bill of the country.
READ MORE: Rupee fall continues; dollar hits new high at Rs191.77
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Dollar makes new high Rs195.75 at interbank closing
KARACHI: The US dollar gained Rs1.57 against the Pakistan Rupee (PKR) to make new record high at Rs195.75 by end of trading at interbank foreign exchange market on Tuesday.
The exchange rate was closed at Rs194.18 to the dollar, which was the previous high of the dollar, a day earlier in interbank foreign exchange market.
READ MORE: Dollar makes fresh high at Rs194.18 at interbank closing
Currency experts said that massive fall in foreign exchange reserves and high import payments were the major reasons behind rupee fall. Further, delay in IMF tranche of $1 billion after the government decision not to remove subsidy on fuel prices, put further pressure on the exchange rate.
Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves fell by $177 million to $16.376 billion by the week ended May 6, 2022. The foreign exchange reserves of the country were $16.553 billion by week ended April 30, 2022.
The country’s foreign exchange reserves hit record high at $27.228 billion by the week ended August 27, 2021. Since then the foreign exchange reserves have depleted by $10.852 billion.
READ MORE: Rupee falls for 8th straight day; dollar hits Rs192.53
The official reserves of the State Bank witnessed a decline of $190 million to $10.309 billion by the week ended May 6, 2022 as compared with $10.499 billion a week ago.
The SBP reserves reached a record high at $20.145 billion by August 27, 2021. The official reserves also fell by $9.836 billion after reaching record high. The official reserves of the SBP have been reduced to provide import payment cover for only 1.56 months.
The import bill of the country surged by 46.41 per cent to $65.49 billion during the first 10 months of the current fiscal year as compared with $44.73 billion in the corresponding months of the last fiscal year.
READ MORE: Rupee fall continues; dollar hits new high at Rs191.77
Pakistan is a net importer of petroleum products to meet its domestic demand. The country’s oil bill was $14.81 billion during the first nine months (July – March) 2021/2022 as compared with $7.55 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year, showing a massive growth of 96 per cent. The oil bill is around 25 per cent of the total import bill of the country.
READ MORE: Rupee crashes to record low at Rs190.02 against dollar
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SBP may raise policy rate by 100bps to 13.25%
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is scheduled to announce monetary policy on May 23, 2022 and may increase the key policy rate by 100 basis points to 13.25 per cent, analysts said on Tuesday.
According to the analysts at Arif Habib Limited, the monetary policy committee of SBP will convene on Monday (May 23rd, 2022) to announce the last scheduled monetary policy of 2021/2022.
READ MORE: SBP increases policy rate sharply by 250bps to 12.25%
They expect the central bank may increase the policy rate by 100 basis points to 13.25 per cent in the upcoming monetary policy statement.
To recall, in an emergency monetary policy meeting held on April 07, 2022, the SBP increased the benchmark policy rate by 250 basis points to 12.25 per cent.
The MPC stated that it believed that since the monetary policy meeting held in March 2022, the outlook for inflation had deteriorated and risks to external stability had risen.
Therefore, these developments necessitated a strong and proactive policy response.
READ MORE: Policy rate may rise as T-Bill yields increase sharply
To recall, headline inflation has remained in the double digits since November 2021 mainly on the back of uptick in food and energy prices.
This phenomenon still continues with headline number hitting almost two years high in April, clocking-in at 13.4 per cent with pressure mainly emanating from higher food and commodity prices.
In April’s MPS, SBP stated that the average inflation forecasts had been revised upwards to slightly above 11 per cent for fiscal year 2021/2022 before moderating in the next fiscal year.
Moreover, in the last policy (April 2022), SBP had termed its action of rate hike as ‘decisive’ and a timely measure to ensure that the goal of financial stability.
READ MORE: State Bank enhances frequency of MP reviews to eight
In addition, the Governor in post MPS (Analyst) Briefing had hinted at a ‘good news’ regarding IMF but conditional upon certain measures pending at government’s end.
The next round of meeting with the IMF starts from May 18th (source: news reports) so they expect government to soon consider rolling back of fiscal relief measures in order to get seventh review through, successfully.
However, this step of government is most likely to further augment inflationary pressure hence, SBP might want to act proactively and consider rate hike in the upcoming policy.
READ MORE: Key policy rate goes up to 9.75%; SBP raises 250bps in less than month
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Dollar peaks at Rs195.50 at midday interbank trading
KARACHI: The US dollar gained Rs1.32 against the Pakistan Rupee (PKR) to make new peak at Rs195.50 during midday trading at interbank foreign exchange market on Tuesday.
The exchange rate was closed at Rs194.18 to the dollar a day earlier in interbank foreign exchange market.
Currency experts said that massive fall in foreign exchange reserves and high import payments were the major reasons behind rupee fall.
Further, delay in IMF tranche of $1 billion after the government decision not to remove subsidy on fuel prices, put further pressure on the exchange rate.
Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves fell by $177 million to $16.376 billion by the week ended May 6, 2022. The foreign exchange reserves of the country were $16.553 billion by week ended April 30, 2022.
The country’s foreign exchange reserves hit record high at $27.228 billion by the week ended August 27, 2021. Since then the foreign exchange reserves have depleted by $10.852 billion.
The official reserves of the State Bank witnessed a decline of $190 million to $10.309 billion by the week ended May 6, 2022 as compared with $10.499 billion a week ago.
The SBP reserves reached a record high at $20.145 billion by August 27, 2021. The official reserves also fell by $9.836 billion after reaching record high. The official reserves of the SBP have been reduced to provide import payment cover for only 1.56 months.
The import bill of the country surged by 46.41 per cent to $65.49 billion during the first 10 months of the current fiscal year as compared with $44.73 billion in the corresponding months of the last fiscal year.
Pakistan is a net importer of petroleum products to meet its domestic demand. The country’s oil bill was $14.81 billion during the first nine months (July – March) 2021/2022 as compared with $7.55 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year, showing a massive growth of 96 per cent. The oil bill is around 25 per cent of the total import bill of the country.