Day: January 7, 2022

Federal Minister for Industries, Makhdum Khusro Bakhtiar, has said that smuggling of urea fertilizer is due to the weak trace and track system of the Sindh Government.

He said that the federal government, in collaboration with provincial governments, has made an online portal to check the availability of fertilizer. Almost 80 percent of trucks carrying urea are monitored in Punjab, however, there is zero monitoring in Sindh, he said. He appealed to the Sindh government to work in this regard to help farmers. He revealed that a truck involved in smuggling was recently caught at the Chaman border.

Urea was stocked in a flour mill in Ghotki, and the truck moved from Sindh, the minister informed. He said that government would expose the smugglers’ network soon. During a press conference at PTV HQs, the Federal Minister for Industries said that after rainfall, an additional stock of urea will be required.

The government will provide 400,000 bags daily from 10 January onwards. In February, 4,400,000 bags will be provided, and in March, 8,200,000 bags will be made available. He said that there is no shortage of fertilizer in the country as of now.

Due to huge prices in international markets, some attempts have been made for smuggling, but the government and all institutions are vigilant, he said.

Source: Pro Pakistani

As a precautionary measure to avoid the spread of COVID-19, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has announced a relaxation — effective from January 1, 2022, in various banking rules, regulations, and processes till June 30, 2022.

According to a notification issued by SBP, banks/microfinance banks (MFBs) may utilize NADRA Verisys in place of biometric verification, where the same is not possible or appropriate due to the risk of COVID-19 spread while complying with controls and measures.

The banks/MFBs will continue with the enhanced transaction limit of Rs. 500,000 per month and the maximum account balance of Rs. 500,000 for non-biometrically verified merchant accounts.

SBP has revealed that the Authorized Financial Institutions (AFIs) or branchless banking companies will not downgrade non-biometrically verified Branchless Banking (BB) legacy Level-1 accounts to Level-0.

The notification makes it clear that the relaxations, unless instructed otherwise, will automatically stand withdrawn upon expiry of the extended timeline of June 30, 2022 and, thereafter, banks/ MFBs will follow the applicable regulatory instructions in the related areas.

Moreover, banks and financial institutions can continue to provide Person-to-Person (P2P) transfers through branchless banking channel, as stipulated under Branchless Banking Regulations for Financial Institutions, till June 30, 2022.

SBP has advised the banking institutions to take necessary measures, such as creating customer awareness and making adjustments in their business model and infrastructure accordingly.

Banks can block customers’ accounts without valid identity documents after serving one-month prior notice as stipulated in the AML/CFT/CPF Regulations. These institutions could mark accounts as dormant/in-operative as defined in the AML/CFT/CPF Regulations.

Banks have been advised to conduct biometric verification for all cash in or cash out transactions in Branchless Banking Level-0 accounts, as mentioned in Branchless Banking Regulations for Financial Institutions.

Meanwhile, banks/MFBs haver further been asked to take appropriate steps to ensure smooth transition to normal operations without COVID-19 related regulatory forbearance.

Source: Pro Pakistani

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has revealed that the government has formulated a new strategy to catch tax evaders and take action against them.

According to FBR, a total of 15 million people will be dealt with in stages. FBR said it had approached National Database and Regulations Authority (NADRA) to provide details of individuals, adding that NADRA would start sharing the data in the next week.

FBR has put different groups on its list which contains government officials and relatives of tax evaders.

FBR notified that it would take legal action against those who fail to voluntarily pay and file taxes.

Furthermore, FBR said it would conduct a detailed investigation into people’s bank accounts, foreign travels, and assets. It added that people living luxurious lifestyles or having expensive cars, and even those having heavy expenses were also to be on its radar.

Source: Pro Pakistani

In its clarification about the controversial State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Amendment Bill, SBP has stated that the proposed amendment has identified the domestic price stability as the primary objective of the bank, followed by financial stability and support of the general economic policies of the government.

According to SBP, the provisions pertaining to the central bank’s accountability to the Parliament have further been strengthened through the amendments proposed to the bill.

SBP has issued a brief about the new amendments laid down before the Parliament to fulfill the prior condition of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – which wants the complete independence of SBP – to revive the loan program.

Moreover, despite a ban on government borrowing, said SBP, it will continue refinancing facilities to financial institutions.

The clear specification of objectives in this manner will make SBP more accountable for achieving them. In addition, it would help the central bank appropriately prioritize its policy actions to ensure sustainable economic growth in Pakistan.

There is strong evidence that some countries with an independent, accountable, and transparent central bank have lower and more stable inflation over long periods of time, which in turn lays the foundation for sustainable growth, clarified in the brief.

The amendments propose exclusion of the provisions related to the government borrowing from the central bank and the SBP quasi-fiscal operations.

It further revealed that the lender of last resort function of the central bank had been strengthened to enable it to provide temporary liquidity facility to banks against appropriate collateral.

A central bank’s autonomy can be jeopardized if it cannot continually avail itself of sufficient financial resources to fulfill its mandate, said SBP. It added that the proposed amendments, in this regard, allowed SBP to be sufficiently capitalized, and prescribed the necessary mechanism to achieve the desired level of capital over time, through both statutory reserves as well as retained earnings.

The proposed amendment makes sure the strengthening of the functional and administrative autonomy of SBP, according to the central bank. The bank said that a key element of the functional independence of central banks was the protection of its officials for actions taken in good faith. It maintained that the provisions for the protection were not only a common practice in other central banks but also existed in other domestic laws.

In addition, the Monetary and Fiscal Policies Coordination Board is proposed to be abolished, as its terms of reference overlap with the work that has been assigned to the Monetary Policy Committee under the existing Act, and such a mechanism for coordination goes beyond provisions in the acts of other central banks. Instead, adds the brief, a new mechanism for coordination is being proposed between the Finance Minister and the Governor, under which they would establish a close liaison and keep each other informed of matters that jointly concern the Ministry of Finance and the State Bank.

The central bank made it clear that the amendments prescribed qualification and experience requirements, tenure, conflict of interest, and disqualification criteria for all appointments, including the directors on the Board of State Bank, members of the Monetary Policy Committee, the Governor and the Deputy Governors.

The bank maintained that to introduce a collegial decision-making process, the amendments proposed to establish an SBP Executive Committee consisting of the Governor and the Deputy Governors. This committee will be responsible for formulating policies related to the bank’s core functions as well as those related to administration and management matters, excluding those matters falling in the purview of the Monetary Policy Committee or the Board of Directors. All policy decisions will be taken by the Executive Committee.

SBP said the amendments strengthened provisions related to the accountability of the bank to the Parliament, the constitution of an Audit Committee, the designation of a Chief Internal Auditor, and the appointment of External Auditors. The oversight role of the SBP Board of Directors will be strengthened and its scope be broadened, including by giving them explicit oversight over the affairs and functions of the bank; the power to supervise the management, bank’s administration, operations; and right of access to all activities of the bank.

Source: Pro Pakistani

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) executive board is likely to delay the sixth review of the $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) on account of delay in implementation of some of the prior actions by the government, official sources told ProPakistani.

The government has tabled two bills including the Finance (Supplementary) Bill and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Amendment Bill, 2021, in the Parliament as the prior conditions needed for the sixth review of the $6 billion EFF to get cleared by the IMF executive board. According to sources, till the passage of these important bills from the Parliament, the executive board meeting is unlikely to be held. However, they added, the board meeting would be scheduled soon after the passage of these bills from the Parliament.

The IMF executive board calendar was updated on Thursday on its website, showing that its meeting had been scheduled for January 12, 2022, and the agenda included, Pakistan – 2021 Article IV Consultation, Sixth Review, under the Extended Arrangement, under the Extended Fund Facility, and Requests for Waivers of Nonobservance of Performance Criteria and Rephasing of Access. However, later, Pakistan’s agenda was removed.

The completion of the review would make available SDR 750 million (about $1,059 million), bringing total disbursements under EFF to about $3,027 million.

Pakistan and IMF had reached a staff-level agreement on policies and reforms needed to complete the sixth review under the $6 billion EFF and issued a press statement on November 21, 2021.

The staff-level agreement is subject to approval by the executive board, following the implementation of prior actions, mainly on fiscal and institutional reforms.

Source: Pro Pakistani

A parliamentary panel on Friday directed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to make Chaman Border functional to facilitate people on both sides of the border.

The meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Interior was held under the Chairmanship of Senator Mohsin Aziz.

Senator Kamran Murtaza informed the committee that people who live around the Chaman Border are close relatives and share the same tribe with the people on the other side of the border. Due to the non-functionality of the Chaman Border, people on both sides of the border face a lot of problems, he added.

FIA officials informed the committee that the border is functional for passport holders from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm and will soon be functional for the locals of the area.

The committee chairman said that it is the intention of Prime Minister Imran Khan to make Chaman Border functional and it should be implemented in letter and spirit.

The meeting was attended by Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri, Senator Saifullah Abro, Senator Rana Maqbool Ahmad, Senator Faisal Saleem Rahman, Senator Shahadat Awan, Senator Fawzia Arshad, Senator Dilawar Khan, Senator Dost Muhammad Khan, Senator Kamran Murtaza, Senator Fida Muhammad, the Minister for Railways and officials from Islamabad Police and FIA among others.

Source: Pro Pakistani