In response to the recent surge in taxes and duties on the registration of cellular mobile devices and handsets, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) issued a clarification on Monday, emphasizing that the applicable duty and taxes are solely collected by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
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Starlink not legal internet service provider: PTA
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on Wednesday said that Starlink is not a legit internet service provider in the country.
The PTA in a press release informed the general public that satellite broadband provider Starlink had neither applied for nor obtained any license from PTA to operate and provide internet services in Pakistan.
READ MORE: PTA allows free mobile calls for Murree emergency
Therefore, general public is advised in their own interest that they must refrain for engaging in any pre-booking orders being placed on Starlink or any of its associated websites.
The directions came in the wake of reports that Starlink, through its website, is asking intended subscribers to pay a deposit of $99 (refundable) as pre-order for equipment/services.
READ MORE: PTA issues procedure to block telemarketing messages
PTA has already taken up the matter with Starlink to stop taking pre-order bookings from intended consumers with immediate effect as the Company has not been granted any license for provision of internet services in Pakistan.
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PTA allows free mobile calls for Murree emergency
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has announced the provision of free mobile calling facilities for individuals stranded in Murree and the Galliat region due to extreme weather conditions. This emergency initiative was implemented on Sunday following reports of severe disruptions caused by heavy snowfall and traffic gridlocks in the area.
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State Bank launches easy mobile phone account
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Sunday said it is launching a new initiative of Asaan (easy) Mobile Account (AMA) on Monday, December 13, 2021.
The central bank in a statement said that the initiative was developed under the National Financial Inclusion Strategy with the objective to bring further ease in remote account opening under branchless banking.
This means that the customers would be able to open and operate their accounts in the comfort of their homes, without having to visit the branches, with any of the participating branchless banking providers.
The solution has been developed through a collaboration of SBP, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), 13 Branchless Banking (BB) Providers, all Cellular Mobile Operators (CMOs) and Virtual Remittance Gateway (VRG). ForAMA, the branchless banking providers and cellular mobile operators are collaborating to deliver an interoperable platform, allowing any Pakistani to open account with a bank.
AMA will play a crucial role in reaching out to the low-income segments that do not have access to internet. Moreover, AMA will be a perfect conduit to onboard women customer segments as well.
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Pakistan lifts ban on TikTok
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has lifted the ban imposed on the services of TikTok, an online social platform, according to a statement issued on Friday.
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) said that it had restored the services of TikTok on the assurance of the platform to control immoral/indecent content.
Subsequent to the imposition of the ban on July 20, 2021, the PTA remained in communications with the TikTok management.
As a result of continuous engagement, senior management of the platform assured PTA of its commitment to take necessary measures to control unlawful content in accordance with local laws and societal norms.
The company also assured that the users who are continuously involved in uploading unlawful content will be blocked from using the platform.
Keeping in view the assurances, the authority has decided to lift the ban on TikTok forthwith.
The PTA will continue to monitor the platform in order to ensure that unlawful content contrary to Pakistan’s law and societal values is not disseminated.
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PTA issues procedure to block telemarketing messages
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on Monday issued the procedure to bloc telemarketing communication and unwanted/spam messages.
The PTA said that unwanted calls/messages can be disruptive, but there are measures to minimize them.
For blocking telemarketing communication, a person needs to register his number on the “Do Not Contact Register (DNCR)”. In order to register the person need to send a message by typing ‘reg’ and SMS to 3627.
To allow telemarketing communication again, type ‘unreg’ and SMS to 3627.
The PTA said that concerned service provider may be contacted in case of issue or for details about tariff/subscription charges.
To block spamming/unsolicited communication, the PTA issued procedure under which a person should type spammer’s cell number, give a space, paste the received message and SMS to 9000.
SMS charges of PKR 0.10 (inclusive of taxes) apply for each SMS to prevent abuse of facility.
For blocking obnoxious/unknown calls and SMSs, the PTA suggested to dial *420# (for Jazz, Telenor & Ufone subscribers) or 420 (for ZONG subscribers). Concerned service provider may be contacted to get detail about tariff/subscription.
The regulator further said that in case an issue is not resolved, the complaint may be lodged to PTA through an online complaint management system:
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Ufone signs Rs21 billion agreement for 4G spectrum
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Telecom Company, Ufone has secured its largest syndicated financing facility jointly led by MCB Bank Limited (MCB) (Agent bank), Allied Bank Limited (ABL), Bank of Punjab (BoP), National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), and United Bank Limited (UBL) to fund the acquisition and rollout of its 4G services across Pakistan.
President and Group CEO, PTCL & Ufone, HatemBamatraf signed the agreement for the syndicated financing of PKR 21 billion at a ceremony held in Islamabad, which was also attended by President, MCB Bank, Imran Maqbool; Group Head, Corporate Finance & International Banking, MCB Bank, Mr. ShoaibMumtaz; President Allied Bank, AizidRazzaq Gill; Chief, Corporate & Investment Banking, Allied Bank, OwaisShahid; Head Investment Banking, Bank of Punjab, Umer Khan, AbidKitchlew Divisional Head C&IBG, National Bank, and Farooq Ahmed Khan Group Head Corporate & Investment Banking, United Bank Ltd .
Ufone has recently been awarded 4G Spectrum License as a result of competitive bidding during the spectrum auction held by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). The company’s investment in 4G spectrum will go onto enhancing its network capacity and readiness besides delivering superior connectivity and user experience to its customers.
Speaking at the ceremony President and Group CEO, PTCL & Ufone, HatemBamatraf expressed his gratitude to the banking consortium for the timely financial support and said “The Financing Solution will go a long way in bringing high quality mobile broadband services to the people of Pakistan. It will improve quality of network services and usher in a host of socio-economic opportunities for growth and development for our customers” He further added “ It is a mutual goal that both Pakistan’s banking and telecom industries are working to achieve in order to create shared value for the communities we serve.”
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PTA renews Jazz license for $449.2 million
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on has renewed license of Jazz at a price of $449.2 million, according to a statement issued on Monday.
The PTA said that after dismissal of a petition from Islamabad High Court, PTA has renewed Jazz License due for renewal since 2019.
Renewed License has enhanced terms and conditions for coverage and Quality of Service, as established during the recent Pakistan Spectrum Auction.
The license signing was held at PTA Headquarters on Monday.
The license is renewed at a price of $449.2 Million out of which Jazz has already paid $333.64 million on account of license renewal fee and applicable markup.
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FBR warns of penalties amid filers grievances
ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Wednesday warned non-filers of harsh action including monetary penalty and imprisonment.
In a statement, a FBR spokesman said that the last date for filing income tax return for tax year 2021 is October 15, 2021 and it will not be further extended.
The actual last date for filing the income tax returns for tax year 2021 was September 30, 2021. However, to technical issues on the FBR portal this date was extended for 15 days. The FBR in this regard issued Circular No. 08 to extend the date of filing income tax returns.
Through the latest statement, the FBR urged the persons having taxable income or those who are required to file their returns under Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, should file their returns in remaining two days.
According to the statement the FBR’s IRIS portal was working smoothly. “Therefore, no further date will be extended beyond October 15, 2021,” the spokesman said.
The spokesman further said that after the due date the non-filers would face monetary penalty of Rs1,000 each day of default. Furthermore, the non-filers may face imprisonment for two years.
The tax practitioners, however, are not satisfied with the performance of the FBR stating that the technical issues were not resolved so far.
“Despite repeated requests the FBR has not resolved the issues in return filing,” Zeeshan Merchant, President, Karachi Tax Bar Association (KTBA) told PkRevenue.com
Merchant said that calculation error in return form for SMEs was still a major issue.
Besides, these issues the taxpayers and tax practitioners had also faced slow speed of internet, which was caused by a fault in international cable, as income tax returns are required to file electronically.
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) a day earlier issued a statement on the cable fault and said that it was monitoring the situation and will continue to update on it.
“A submarine cable fault was reported yesterday near Fujairah, UAE due to which some users may have faced degradation in services. The faulty cable segment has been repaired & work is underway to make the services fully functional,” the PTA said.
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Cellular spectrum auction generates $30 million: PTA
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on Tuesday said that an amount of $30 million has been generated as revenue from first-ever cellular spectrum auction for Next Generation Mobile Service (NGMS) in Azad Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir (AJ&K) and Gilgit Baltistan.
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