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KARACHI: The Pak Rupee (PKR) on Tuesday continued its fathomless journey against the dollar as the foreign currency reached to a new high of Rs175.27.
The rupee ended with a decline of 84 paisas to close at Rs175.27 to the dollar from previous day’s closing of Rs174.43 in the interbank foreign exchange market.
Currency dealers said that the external payment kept the pressure on dollar demand during the day.
They said that the dollar demand was remained high owing to widening of trade deficit. Further, the reduction in official foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has also put pressure on dollar demand.
The official foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank recorded a decline of $1.646 billion to $17.492 billion by the week ended October 15, 2021 as compared with $19.138 billion by week ended October 08, 2021.
The import bill has registered 66.11 per cent growth to $18.74 billion during the first quarter of the current fiscal year as compared with $11.28 billion in the corresponding quarter of the last fiscal year.
The rupee is facing a continuous fall since start of the current fiscal year. The local currency recorded a depreciation of Rs17.73 or 11.25 per cent against the dollar when compared the value of Rs157.54 to dollar on June 30, 2021 with Rs175.27 as on October 26, 2021.
KARACHI: Indus Motor Company Limited has reported a remarkable 195% increase in net profit, reaching Rs5.42 billion for the quarter ended September 30, 2021, compared to Rs1.84 billion during the same period last year.
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has unveiled the income tax rates applicable to petroleum products for the tax year 2022 under the Second Schedule of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001.
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has released the income tax rates applicable to brokerage and commission for the tax year 2022, as outlined in the Second Schedule of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001.
KARACHI: Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited on Monday announced a sharp growth of 55 per cent in net profit for the quarter ended September 30, 2021. The company made a profit of Rs1.19 billion for the quarter July – September 2021 as compared with Rs767 million in the same quarter of the last year.
The company declared Rs187.08 as earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter under review as compared with EPS of Rs120.52 in the same quarter of the last year.
The board of directors of Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited in its meeting held on October 25, 2021 approved the un-audited condensed interim financial information for the nine months ended September 30, 2021.
The after tax profit for nine months period ended September 30, 2021 has also surged by 45 per cent. The company announced the net profit of Rs3.61 billion during January – September 2021 as compared with Rs2.49 billion in the same period of the last year.
The company announced Rs567.20 EPS for the period under review as compared with Rs391.53 in the same period of the last year.
The company said that sales grew by 28 per cent on the back of strong fundamentals i.e. brand equity, wider reach and effective spending on advertisement and promotion.
The growth was broad based with both retail business and food solution delivering strong result of easing lockdowns.
Gross margin increased by 1.23 per cent to 43.69 per cent versus same period last year, through a combination of pricing, better cost absorption and a rigorous savings agenda.
EPS increased by 45 per cent versus the same period last year driven by growth, margin improvement and tax credits pertaining to capital expenditure.
About the future outlook of the country, the company said that Pakistan’s economy has shown resilience in the face of global COVID-19 pandemic, witnessing GDP growth of 3.94 per cent in fiscal year 2021 as a result of timely monetary and fiscal measures.
This was supported by a nation-wide vaccination drive which has, so far, played an important role in successfully fighting COVID. With restriction easing out further, commercial activity expected to return to pre-covid levels.
“However, rising global commodity prices and energy costs coupled with sharp rupee devaluation is expected to further aggravate the inflationary headwinds which in turn, may have significant implications on the economic activity in the country,” the company said.
“In such challenging times, the management remains committed to navigate by leveraging the power of our brands and our global and local expertise to drive efficiencies within the value chain. We will continue our efforts on providing value to our consumers to meet their daily needs and on delivering competitive, consistent, responsible, and profitable growth benefitting all stakeholders.”
Muhammad Zeeshan Merchant, President, KTBA said that the condition is remarkably in contradiction with other modes of payment through banking channels, which is historically remained in practice and is widely accepted under the provisions of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001.
“We feel that this provision of law is antibusiness; sans due diligence and is incorporated without taking the stakeholders into confidence,” he said.
Additionally, it is not practical for many business houses, he added.
A summary explaining certain situations (and by no means a complete synopsis) is given below:
(a) You will appreciate that it is normal business practice that in lieu of advance delivery of goods, the buyer tenders its payment by way of post-dated cheques, which is normally accepted by the other party and is inherently a secured way of making the payment. We are afraid that this law of “digital mode of payment” is surely going to hamper the business activities, as it does not cater the situation and solution of such transactions.
(b) Normally, it is a practice that, the port terminal charges, wharfage charges, charges for clearance of delivery orders etc., are paid in advance through crossed cheques or pay-orders. We understand that presently, the businesses, including but not limited to Port Terminal Operators and Shipping Lines, are unaware and are not ready for implantation of this “digital mode of payment”. In our view, it needs a rigorous awareness campaign for them.
(c) Furthermore, we feel that the similar issues are likely to arise and are to be faced by the Companies for making payments to the growers of various agricultural crops such as sugar cane, rice, cotton, wheat etc. We feel that a rigorous campaign is also required for the recipients of such payments.
(d) Moreover, in our view this “digital mode of payment” is also impractical and is likely to affect the business transactions in the cases where petty cash payments, in aggregate exceed millions of rupees, which cannot be made digitally.
(e) Furthermore, we understand that various banks have fixed their own limitation on the quantity of making digital/online payments in a day and have also fixed the threshold of the amount and they do not allow to exceed the threshold limit fixed by them. In our view, this also needs a proper campaign without which the implementation of the law is not possible.
The KTBA said that the tax authorities would come across with the other impediments on the subject in times to come.
We strongly believe that, unless there is a wide off the mark in conventional banking transaction, this move is likely to create lots of trouble for the Corporate Sector.
It is, therefore, suggested that the mandatory condition of “digital mode of payment” for Companies as envisaged U/s. 21 (la) of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, be allowed to run simultaneously with other conventional modes of payments for at least a year so that their business is not affected and is smoothly run till they are aware of this change in the mode of payment.
Saqib Naseem, Central Chairman Pakistan Yarn Merchants Association (PYMA) and Muhammad Junaid Teli, Vice Chairman, Sind & Balochistan region in a statement on Monday expressed serious concerns over the sharp rise in the petroleum prices.
They appealed to Prime Minister Imran Khan to significantly reduce in the petroleum prices in the best economic, industrial and public interest of the country, so that the business & industry can survive in COVID-ridden economy.
The PYMA office bearers said that despite the adverse economic situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the sharp rise in prices of petroleum products by the government was a matter of grave concern to the business community, as the increase in the prices of petroleum products is not only a sign of a huge increase in inflation but also cause a huge increase in the production cost of business and industry.
They said: “Raw materials for industries in particular, whose prices have already skyrocketed, will now rise to unbearable levels with the government’s recent move, which will destroy industries, especially SMEs, and increase unemployment in the country.”
The PYMA officer bearers appealed to Prime Minister Imran Khan to reverse the recent rise in petroleum prices, and significantly reduce prices to make it easier to do business and run industries.
They also requested the Prime Minister to review the economic situation of the country and direct the economists to formulate policies according to the ground realities so that steps can be taken to make the country economically stable and prosperous.
Otherwise, in the current situation, it will be very difficult for traders to do business and for industrialists to run industries, which will be a severe blow to the country’s exports.
KARACHI: Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) has announced 18 per cent growth in net profit of the first quarter ended September 30, 2021.
The company announced profit after tax of Rs16.86 billion during the first quarter (July – September) of the current fiscal year as compared with Rs14.32 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.
PPL announced earnings per share at Rs6.2 for the quarter under review as compared with Rs5.26 EPS in the same quarter of the last year.
The board of directors of the company at its meeting held on Monday approved the unconsolidated and consolidated financial statements for the first quarter ended September 30, 2021.
The company declared revenue growth to Rs43.59 billion during the first quarter of the current fiscal year as compared with Rs39.32 billion in the same quarter of the last fiscal year.
Operating expenses of the company also grew to Rs10.43 billion as compared with Rs9.4 billion.
Under the head of royalties and other levies, the company paid an amount of Rs6.43 billion during the first quarter of the current fiscal year as compared with Rs5.95 billion in the same period of the last year.
The exploration expenses of the company increased to Rs4.86 billion during the quarter of July – September 2021 as compared with 2.29 billion in the same period of the last year.
KARACHI – The Pakistani rupee (PKR) plunged to a record low of Rs174.43 against the dollar in the interbank foreign exchange market on Monday, marking a significant depreciation in the local currency.
Engro Fertilizers has been recognized as the largest tax paying company in the fertilizer sector. Engro Fertilizer is Pakistan’s premier seed-to-harvest solutions provider.
Engro Fertilizers has been recognized as the largest tax paying company in a ceremony held at the Aiwan-e-Sadr.
Nadir Qureshi, CEO of Engro Fertilizers, received the award from the Honorable President Dr. Arif Alvi, who was the chief guest on this occasion.
According to Nadir Qureshi, “For over 50 years, Engro Fertilizers has remained committed to serving the farmers of Pakistan with world-class products and solutions. Our contributions to the community and the national exchequer are a testament to our philosophy of doing good while doing well. We fully support the Government’s vision of transforming the agricultural landscape and improving the well-being of the farmers of Pakistan.”
He added: “the fertilizer industry in Pakistan operates at the highest level of transparency, with all companies listed and contributing high tax revenues to the Government. Our sector is the only sector whose contributions in taxes to the national exchequer are almost entirely equal to the income provided to the shareholders of fertilizer companies. This makes the Government of Pakistan an equal partner in the earnings of the fertilizer sector.”
Qureshi appreciated the Government for enabling the domestic fertilizer sector to provide adequate and affordable supply of urea to farmers in Pakistan, despite the steep rise in international prices. Continued support from the Government will ensure farmer well-being and even higher tax contributions from the fertilizer industry. He stated that the fertilizer industry of Pakistan is internationally competitive and can thrive in a fully deregulated environment, even without any gas subsidies.
The local industry has always provided farmers in Pakistan with urea at prices below international and is currently delivering a discount of circa Rs 5000/bag compared to the global market.
Through import substitution, the fertilizer sector will contribute more than $3 billion towards reducing the trade deficit in 2021. As a result of the significantly lower prices, the local fertilizer industry will save farmers from an additional burden of Rs 363 billion in 2021 as well.
The ceremony was organized by the Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to appreciate the contribution of leading taxpayers and business institutions in the development of economy, while also highlighting the government’s efforts to facilitate the taxpayers.
The event was also attended by the Federal Minister for Privatization Muhammad Mian Soomro, senior FBR and government officials, President RCCI Nadeem Rauf and other prominent business personalities.
