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  • DGRM authorized to manage risk involved in customs clearance

    DGRM authorized to manage risk involved in customs clearance

    KARACHI: Directorate General of Risk Management (DGRM) has been authorized to manage risk involved in customs clearance of containerized, LCL and bulk cargo.

    The FBR on Wednesday issued SRO 101(I)/2020 to amend Customs Rules, 2001. Through the SRO the FBR issued Risk Management System Rules.

    It said that the DGRM to manage risk involved in customs clearance of containerized, LCL and bulk cargo including but not limited to transit cargo, international passengers and accompanied and unaccompanied baggage thereof including clearances against carnet-de-passage/TIR.

    The DG has also been authorized to plan, design and implement strategies by applying accredited risk management tools and techniques specific to each transaction types relating to imports, exports and transit of goods and clearance of international passengers.

    The DG shall also monitor, evaluate and review Risk Management System based on changing national and international trends and feedback from stakeholders.

    According to the SRO, the DG shall examine clearance patterns of various sectors and commodities to identify, analyze and evaluate risks, develop mitigation strategies and present the same to Risk Management Committee (RMC) for approval and implementation.

    The DG shall responsible to develop system whereby different stakeholders’ compliance levels are determined. Compliant stakeholders are facilitated in the system, it added.

    The DG shall coordinate with Directorate General of Intelligence and Investigation Customs (DG I&I) to get feedback in the structured format after completion of investigations of cases or studies undertaken by the DG I&I.

    The DG shall also coordinate with the Directorate General of Customs Valuation to develop checks and parameters for selection of cases requiring valuation scrutiny.

    It said that RMC shall be headed by a BS-21 officer of Customs preferably Director General RMS and shall comprise many BS-19 and BS-20 officers of Customs as may be notified by the FBR.

    According to the SRO, the meetings of RMC shall be convened at least once every month.

    The RMC shall perform the following key functions, namely:

    a. to review performance of the RMS;

    b. to review risk parameters and behavior of important risk indicators;

    c. to set benchmarks for interventions or interceptions focusing on targeting the risky consignments or entities; and

    d. to review major detections by the collectorates or directorates (I&)- Customs with respect to RMS.

  • PIA declares 17% loss for six-month period

    PIA declares 17% loss for six-month period

    KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has announced 17 percent loss for six months period ended June 30, 2019.

    According to financial results submitted to Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Wednesday, the national flag carrier recorded losses of Rs37.89 billion for the six months period ended June 30, 2019 as compared with Rs32.411 billion in the corresponding period of the last year.

    Operation losses of the company fell by 60 percent for the period to Rs7.12 billion as compared with the operation losses of Rs17.53 billion for the six months period ended June 30, 2018.

    The company absorbed losses of Rs14.59 billion due to depreciation in rupee value during the six months period ended June 30, 2019 as compared with Rs5.83 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.

    The financial costs of the airline increased to Rs15.85 billion during the period under review as compared with Rs8.8 billion in the same period of the last year.

    The administrative expenses of the company were flat at Rs3.49 billion for the six months period ended June 30, 2019 as compared with Rs3.25 billion in the same period of the last fiscal year.

  • FBR defines fair market value of immovable properties, motor vehicles

    FBR defines fair market value of immovable properties, motor vehicles

    KARACHI: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has defined fair market value of immovable properties and motor vehicles in case of undeclared assets identified.

    FBR officials said that the valuation of immovable property for the purposes of section 111 of Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 related to undisclosed assets shall be taken to be-

    (a) the fair market value of immovable property shall be the value notified by the Board under sub-section (4) of section 68, in respect of area or areas specified in the said notifications;

    (b) if the fair market value of any immovable property of any area or areas has not been determined by the Board in the notification referred to in sub-section (4) of section 68, the fair market value of such immovable property shall be deemed to be the value fixed by the District Officer (Revenue) or provincial or any other authority authorized in this behalf for the purposes of stamp duty; and

    (c) in the case of agricultural land, the value shall be equal to the average sale price of the sales recorded in the revenue record of the estate in which the land is situated for the relevant period or time;

    (d) if in a case sale price recorded in the instrument of sale of any property is higher than the fair market value as determined under clauses (a), (b) and (c), the applicable price shall be higher of the two; and

    (e) in the case of sale price of any auctioned property or the fair market value as determined under clauses (a), (b) and (c), the higher price shall be applicable.

    (2) For the purposes of section 111 and subject to sub-rule (2), the value of motor cars and jeeps shall be determined in the following manner, namely:-

    (a) the value of the new imported car or jeep shall be the C.I.F. value of such car or the jeep, as the case may be, plus the amount of all charges, customs-duty, sales tax, levies, octroi fees and other duties and taxes leviable thereon and the costs incurred till its registration;

    (b) the value of a new car or jeep purchased from the manufacturer or assembler or dealer in Pakistan, shall be the price paid by the purchaser, including the amount of all charges, customs-duty, sales tax and other taxes, levies, octroi, fees and all other duties and taxes leviable thereon and the costs incurred till its registration;

    (c) the value of used car or jeep imported into Pakistan shall be the import price adopted by the customs authorities for the purposes of levy of customs-duty plus freight, insurance and all other charges, sales tax, levies octroi, fees and other duties and taxes leviable thereon and the costs incurred till its registration;

    (d) the value of a car or jeep specified in clause (a), (b) and (c) at the time of its acquisition shall be the value computed in the manner specified in the clause (a), (b) or (c), as the case may be, as reduced by a sum equal to ten percent of the said clause for each successive year, upto a maximum of five years; or

    (e) the value of a used car or jeep purchased by an assessee locally shall be taken to be the original cost of the car or the jeep determined in the manner specified in clause (a), (b) or (c), as the case may be, as reduced by an amount equal to ten percent for every year following the year in which it was imported or purchased from a manufacturer.

    (3) In no case shall the value be determined at an amount less than fifty percent of the value determined in accordance with clause (a), (b) or (c) or the purchase price whichever is more.

    (4) For the purposes of section 61, the value of any property donated to a non-profit organization shall be determined in the following manner, namely:-

    (a) the value of articles or goods imported into Pakistan shall be the value determined for the purposes of levy of customs duty and the amount of such duty and sales tax, levies, fees, octroi and other duties, taxes or charges leviable thereon and paid by the donor;

    (b) the value of articles and goods manufactured in Pakistan shall be the price as recorded in the purchase vouchers and the taxes, levies and charges leviable thereon and paid by the donor;

    (c) the value of articles and goods which have been previously used in Pakistan and in respect of which depreciation has been allowed, the written down value, on the relevant date as determined by the Commissioner;

    (d) the value of a motor vehicle shall be the value as determined in accordance with rule; and

    (e) the value of articles or goods other than those specified above, shall be the fair market value as determined by the Commissioner.

  • Meezan Bank, Amreli Steels sign agreement for dealers collection

    Meezan Bank, Amreli Steels sign agreement for dealers collection

    KARACHI: Meezan Bank, the largest Islamic bank in Pakistan, and Amreli Steels Limited have joined hands to streamline dealers collections.

    Under this transaction banking agreement, Meezan Bank, through the provision of its state-of-the-art online banking solution, named eBiz+, will enable Amreli Steels to fully automate its dealer collections, a statement said on Tuesday.

    The partnership will further create value for Amreli Steels by serving as an end-to-end transaction banking solution delivering standardized reporting, greater safety and efficiency.

    The agreement was signed by M. Saqib Ashraf – Head of Transaction Banking, Meezan Bank and Taha Umer – Financial Controller, Amreli Steels Limited. Also present at the occasion were Senior Executives of both organizations including Abdullah Ahmed – Group Head, Corporate & Institutional Banking, Meezan Bank, Amanullah Shaikh – General Manager South, Corporate & Institutional Banking, Meezan Bank, Shayan Akberali – CEO, Amreli Steels Limited and Fazal Ahmed – CFO & COO, Amreli Steels Limited.

    Abdullah Ahmed, while speaking at the occasion said, “It is a pleasure to on-board Amreli Steels as a Transaction Banking customer.

    Meezan Bank has always been a futuristic institution that aims to create even more attractive offerings to facilitate its customers.

    At Meezan, we realize that corporations of all sizes need creative cash management strategies to support their operations and we are glad that Amreli Steels has taken this initiative.”

    Shayan Akberali also commended the Bank for successfully launching cash management services and bringing forth operational efficiency in their collections process.

  • SECP proposes amendments to prevent corporate money laundering

    SECP proposes amendments to prevent corporate money laundering

    ISLAMABAD: Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has proposed amendments laws to prevent money laundering through corporate entities.

    A statement issued on Tuesday said that the SECP has issued a set of notifications, soliciting public consultation on drafts of amendments to the Companies (Incorporation) Regulations, 2017, Companies (General Provisions and Forms) Regulations, 2018, Foreign Companies Regulations, 2018, and Limited Liability Partnership Regulations, 2018.

    The proposed amendments collectively make disclosures regarding the ownership and control structure of the companies and limited liability partnerships more transparent.

    These amendments, issued in line with the recommendations on transparency of legal persons issued by the Financial Action Task Force, will help in identifying the real owners of such entities.

    The amendments also propose to explicitly prohibit the issuance or transfer of equity and debt securities of a bearer nature as well as to increase the period for retention of records of dissolved companies.

    The amendments will address the deficiencies highlighted in the country’s mutual evaluation report published by the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering in October 2019.

    With the effect of propose amendments, Companies and LLPs would have to provide additional information to SECP, if the ownership and control structure of such entities is obscured through a chain of multiple entities, whether registered in Pakistan or abroad.

    The draft Regulations define an ultimate beneficial owner as a person who exercises ownership or control rights over a company or LLP indirectly through multiple layers of corporate entities or other legal persons or any other arrangements.

    Amendments suggested specifying a threshold of a minimum of 25 percent of ownership or control rights of the ultimate beneficial owner in the reporting entity, which would be owned through multiple layers of intermediate corporate entities.

    In order to give effect to the proposed amendments, the Commission has also publicized the substantive provisions being added to the enabling laws, i.e. the Companies Act, 2017 and the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2017.

    The proposed amendments are placed on SECP’s website for public consultation.

  • Finance ministry urges careful media reporting over ebb

    Finance ministry urges careful media reporting over ebb

    ISLAMABAD: The ministry of finance on Tuesday urged the media for careful reporting over the ebb and flows of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).

    “Yesterday as being unfortunate as such reports highlighting sharp volatility in the market damage the interest of the small investors and create uncertainty in the market,” a statement said.

    “The role of the media in reporting the ebb and flow in the market needs to be carefully analyzed particularly in the wake of rumors spread by a section of the media regarding alleged changes in the government’s economic team which sent wrong signal to the market and damaged the interest of small investors and hurt overall sentiment in the market,” says it added.

    The Ministry of Finance has noted that it is natural for the market to see a correction after rising sharply by over 50 percent.

    “Yesterday, the market fell 846 points. Today the market gained 417 points. These ebbs and flows of the market are driven by sentiments, whereas the fundamentals remain strong and continue to improve.”

    The Ministry of Finance also pointed out that after rising by 50 percent from August 2019 to January 2020, the KSE 100 index had already been named as the top performing market in the world by Bloomberg in December 2019.

    The improved investor confidence was based on corrective measures taken by the government to reduce the twin deficits.

    These measures were also strongly endorsed by Moody’s Investor Services in December 2019 with an upgrade in outlook to ‘stable’ from ‘negative’.

    Foreign portfolio investment in the stock market during the first 6 months of the current fiscal year has also stood at US$ 18.8 million after 4 years of heavy selling by foreign investors.

  • Stock market recovers 418 points

    Stock market recovers 418 points

    KARACHI: The stock market gained 418 points on Tuesday as market made recovery of past days losses.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 39,714 points as against 39,296 points showing a make of 418 points.

    Analysts at Topline Securities said that the market opened on a positive note in line with regional and international markets, but lost momentum and traded sideways for most part of the day.

    However, in eleventh hour aggressive buying was observed by investors, as index gained to close at 39,714 level (up by 1.05 percent).

    Late buying was witnessed in the cement sector, as MLCF and PIOC from the sector gained to close on their respective upper circuits.

    Investor participation continue to be limited, as traded volume and value for the day stood at 161 million shares and Rs.6 billion respectively.

    HASCOL which was today`s volume leader with 12.8 million shares gained to close on its upper circuit.

  • Car sales decline by 45% in seven months

    Car sales decline by 45% in seven months

    KARACHI – The car sales in Pakistan witnessed a significant decline during the first seven months (July–January) of the fiscal year 2019–2020, as total sales of locally assembled vehicles fell by 45 percent.

    (more…)
  • PTCL declares 14.5% decline in annual net profit

    PTCL declares 14.5% decline in annual net profit

    KARACHI: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has declared 14.5 percent decline in net profit for the year 2019.

    According to financial results submitted to Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), the company announced net profit of Rs6.347 billion for the calendar year ended December 31, 2019 as compared with Rs7.422 billion profit in the preceding year.

    The earnings per share for the year of the company also came at Rs1.24 as compared with the EPS of Rs1.46 declared in the last year.

    A final cash dividend for the year ended December 31, 2019 was at Re0.50 per share i.e. 5 percent. This is in addition to the interim dividend already paid at Re0.5 per share i.e. 5 percent.

    The gross profit of PTCL was recorded at Rs16.98 billion for the year 2019 as compared with Rs53.53 billion in the previous year.

    Administrative and general expenses of the company was at Rs6.76 billion in 2019 as compared with Rs6.257 billion in the preceding year.

    PTCL declared operating profit at Rs4.94 billion as compared with Rs6.51 billion.

    The profit before tax was recorded at Rs9.33 billion for the year 2019 as compared with Rs10.757 billion in the preceding year.

  • FBR notifies transfer, postings of BS-20 Customs officers

    FBR notifies transfer, postings of BS-20 Customs officers

    ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Tuesday notified transfers and postings of Pakistan Customs Service (PCS) officers in BS-20 with immediate effect and until further orders.

    Following officers have been transferred and posted:

    01. Abdul Qadir Memon (Pakistan Customs Service/BS-20) has been transferred and posted as Collector, Collectorate of Customs, (Appeals), Karachi from the post of Chief, Federal Board of Revenue (HQ), Islamabad.

    02. Ms. Seema Raza Bokhari (Pakistan Customs Service/BS-20), who is currently posted as Collector, Model Customs Collectorate, Islamabad has been given look after charge of Collector, Model Customs Collectorate of Gilgit-Baltistan in addition to her own duties.

    03. Muhammad Junaid Jalil Khan (Pakistan Customs Service/BS-20) has been transferred and posted as Collector, Collectorate of Customs, (Appeals), Islamabad from the post of Chief, Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad.

    04. Dr. Tahir Qureshi (Pakistan Customs Service/BS-20) has been transferred and posted as Collector, Model Customs Collectorate, Gwadar from the post of Collector, Model Customs Collectorate, Gilgit-Baltistan.

    05. Muhammad Jamil Nasir Khan (Pakistan Customs Service/BS-20) has been transferred and posted as Collector, Model Customs Collectorate of Appraisement and Facilitation (West), Karachi from the post of Chief, Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad.

    06. Imran Ahmad Ch. (Pakistan Customs Service/BS-20) is currently posted as Director, Directorate of Post Clearance Audit(North), Islamabad. The officer will also look after the charge of Director, Directorate of Internal Audit-North (Customs), Islamabad.

    07. Ms. Azmat Tahira (Pakistan Customs Service/BS-20) has been transferred and posted as Collector, Model Customs Collectorate (AIIA), Lahore from the post of Director, Directorate of Internal Audit-North (customs), Islamabad.

    08. Basit Maqsood Abbasi (Pakistan Customs Service/BS-20 has been transferred and posted as Collector Model Customs Collectorate of Enforcement and Compliance, Lahore from the post of Collector, Model Customs Collectorate (AIIA), Lahore.

    The FBR said that the officers who are drawing performance allowance prior to issuance of this notification shall continue to draw this allowance on the new place of posting.