Finance team briefs President Zardari on overall economic situation
Discussing futuristic concept of investment, President Asif Ali Zardari directed the Finance team to consider the feasibility of floating infrastructure bonds for raising equity for building infrastructure projects.
Chairing a meeting of finance team of the government at the Presidency, the President said that Pakistan needed to build massive infrastructure projects but it lacked financial resources for the purpose. It may therefore be advisable to raise equity through infrastructure bonds, he said. The infrastructure projects, the President said, would create economic and business activity in the country on one side and help generate employment opportunities on the other.
The meeting took stock of the overall financial and economic situation of the country and the various measures being undertaken to address the economic issues facing the country.
The meeting was attended by Dr. Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, Federal Minister for Finance, Revenue & Economic Affairs, M. Salman Faruqui, Secretary General to the President, Yasin Anwar, Acting Governor, State Bank of Pakistan, Khalil Ahmad, Ambassador at Large, Dr. Waqar Masood Khan, Secretary Finance, Salman Siddique, Chairman, Federal Board of Revenue and Spokesperson to the President Farhatullah Babar.
Briefing the media about the meeting, Spokesperson to the President Farhatullah Babar said that a detailed briefing was given on the financial and economic situation, revenue collection measures, status of proposed currency swap agreements with Turkey and Sri Lanka, measures for increasing remittances through incentives to Pakistanis working abroad and documentation of economy.
The spokesperson said that the President directed the government’s finance team to prepare a workable plan in the shortest possible time by taking in to account all aspects of the proposal for raising equity through floating infrastructure bonds.
The President said that the early finalization of currency swap agreements with Turkey and Sri Lanka would further strengthen the mutual trade and economic ties of Pakistan with these countries and help reduce pressure on their foreign exchange reserves.
The President was briefed on the Pakistan Remittance Initiative (PRI) and the significant increase in the inflows of remittances as a result of the incentives policy.
The President urged for vigorous implementation of the incentive packages for expatriate Pakistani to curb the illegal flows of remittances and facilitate their flow through official channels.
The President also asked for encouraging overseas Pakistanis to fully avail from the government’s incentive package for expatriate Pakistanis to send home remittances through legal channels so as to maximize the inflow of capital.
Govt. made Rs. 69 billion from petroleum products, FBR informs PAC
November 30, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: The government made Rs. 69 billion in just four months from sales tax and customs duty of petroleum products. During the current fiscal year during the period of July-October, tax earnings increased by Rs. 30 billion. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) received these details on Tuesday.
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) told PAC that apart from the Petroleum Development Levy (PDL), during the period of July-October, Rs. 69 billion had been received under sales tax and custom duty from petroleum products, while Rs. 428 billion had been received under pure taxes in the same
period.
The FBR added that the policy regarding sale of seized goods has been revised. Under the new policy, confiscated weapons would be sold to government institutes only and other general items would be sold through Utility and CSD stores
Basic draft agreed upon for reformed GST implementation
ISLAMABAD: The basic points in legal draft of the reformed General Sales Tax (GST), would be finalized by the end of the current month, Geo News reported Wednesday.
The finance secretaries of the four provinces would hold a meeting for consultations to the give the final touches to the draft.
Talking to Geo News, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chief Sohail Ahmed said chief ministers of the four provinces consented on the basic draft in the presence of Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani for the implementation of the reformed GST.
Soahail Ahmed said the government is all geared up to complete the final draft by August 15 for an agreement on the reformed GST , so that it could be tabled before the Parliament by August 30 for legislation.
But, prior to this, the law will have to be passed by all four provincial assemblies, he added.
Employees having income of Rs0.5m should file returns: FBR
ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has said that salaried employees having annual income of Rs 500,000 and above should file their income tax returns for the Tax Year 2009.
FBR spokesman Israr Rauf told Geo News that the tax collector would take strict legal action against the salaried employees having annual income of Rs 5,00,000 but failed to file their income tax returns for the Tax Year 2009.
The FBR has advised the salaried employees to timely file their returns to avoid legal action under Income Tax Ordinance 2001.
Those who failed to comply with the instructions would have to pay Rs 500 per day as penalty.
KPT presses FBR to ease frozen accounts
KARACHI: Karachi Port Trust (KPT) has called upon Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for reopening of frozen bank accounts worth Rs 8.20 billion, which FBR froze in connection with non-payment of taxes, Geo news reported.
According to sources, the federal minister for Port and Shipping Babar Khan Ghauri has pressed government for easing KPT’s frozen bank accounts, fearing that non-opening of accounts will delay several development projects.
FBR sources told media KPT possesses several other saving accounts and receiving a huge amount of interest on them.
Meanwhile, Senate Standing Committee for Port and Shipping has been scheduled to meet in Islamabad on Wednesday for settlement of such issues between KPT and FBR.
By-polls in Punjab’s two constituencies today
LAHORE: By-elections would be held in two constituencies of the provincial assembly – PP-240 D.G. Khan and PP-206 Jalalpur today (Saturday) where some 53 polling stations have been declared sensitive.
The constituency of PP-206 Jalalpur fell vacant when the elected candidate of PML-Q Naghma Mushtaq tendered resignation from the candidature when a case was filed against her of having a fake degree.
Sources said a neck-to-neck contest is expected at PP-206 Jalapur Multan between the PML-N candidate Nagma Mushtaq and PPP candidate Ahmad Mujtabah, brother of the Prime Minister of Pakistan. At PP-206 some 12 candidates are contesting bye-election and 19 polling stations were declared sensitive in the constituency.
On the other hand in PP-240 D.G. Khan strict competition is expected between the independent candidate Khawja Salahuddin and the candidate of PML-N Mir Badshah Qasrani while 35 polling stations were declared sensitive.
Sources said that extra contingents of police and rangers were sent to the sensitive areas in both the constituencies where polling will take place today (Saturday).
Sindh, center drama on VAT ends; reach consensus
ISLAMABAD: The deceptive drama between federal and the Sindh governments ended as two sides reached an agreement on Friday regarding the imposition of Value Added Tax (VAT) from July 1.
According to the agreement, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) will collect VAT on financial, construction, franchise and advertising services from all provinces, including Sindh.
The tax collected will be maintained in a soon-to-be created fund, from which 50 percent will be provided to Sindh, while the remaining will be divided between the rest of the provinces.
However, Sindh will itself impose tax on over 30 other services, including telecom services, and also collect it.
Meanwhile, the finance adviser had said the existing sales tax regime was “rotten and outdated” and needed to be replaced.
Meeting on VAT-related issues ends inconclusively
ISLAMABAD: A high-level meeting held on Wednesday with Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani in the chair and also attended by the chief ministers of the Punjab, Sindh and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, failed to resolve a deadlock between Islamabad and at least two major provinces on the raging issues of the imposition of Value Added Tax (VAT) on services by rendering the right of collection to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
The meeting was also attended by Finance Minister Hafeez Sheikh and Chairman FBR Sohail Ahmed. The deadlock if left unresolved threatens to jeopardise the multi-billion dollar assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB). The government will have to strive hard to win support from the USA for convincing the multilateral creditors to defer the imposition of VAT for at least one year on the explosive grounds of severe backlash from the business community as well as general public egged on by the opposition forces if VAT is imposed on goods and services during already harsh economic times.
Sindh and Punjab opposed the imposition of VAT even from the next fiscal year and instead demanded to defer its implementation for at least two years. Sindh too refused to change its stand on not allowing the Federal Board of Revenue to collect VAT while terming it against the spirit and wording of the Constitution and the National Finance Commission (NFC) award.
“The Punjab’s chief minister has also opposed the VAT on technical grounds, if Sindh’s point of view is accepted,” said a senior official who attended the high-level meeting on Wednesday. He said the concept of imposing taxes on the basis of origin or destination was causing problems between Sindh and the Punjab because service provider companies based in Karachi were providing services in the Punjab.
Sindh reiterated its viewpoint that it would not allow the FBR to collect tax on services on its behalf. “It was our constitutional right to impose VAT on services as well as to collect it and this right was also endorsed in the 7th NFC Award,” said one of the participants of the meeting.
The Punjab’s viewpoint was also supported by Pakhtunkhwa which too opposed Sindh’s demand to allow them the VAT collection on services. “It will be quite difficult to separate goods and services at certain stages,” said the sources.
A senior official of the FBR told The News that they remained outside the meeting venue for providing any technical assistance to the chairman FBR in case of any query or objection and returned without achieving any success.
Rs70bn collected during 1st-16th April
ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue has collected Rs 70 billion during 1st April to 16th, Geo News reported.
A target of Rs 121 billion has been set for the Month of April and till 16th April more than Rs 979 billion have been collected during the fiscal year 2009-10.
Rs 909.60 billion were collected against the target of Rs 938.70 billion set for July 2009-March 2010.
FBR was to collect Rs 1059.70 billion till April 31st.
Nato oil tanker blown up at Pak-Afghan highway
PESHAWAR: A Nato oil tanker blew up on the Pak-Afghan highway near the Jamrud bazaar on Monday.
Official sources told Geo News that the tanker immediately caught fire and the fireball engulfed the other one as well. The road was blocked for traffic, as the law-enforcers put a security cordon around the tanker. The tankers had been completely destroyed in the explosion.
The Pak-Afghan highway has been blocked after the explosion and supply to Nato forces has also been suspended. However, no causality has been reported in the incident. The fire fighters have doused the fire.
