Day: January 13, 2022

Bank Alfalah Limited (BAFL) has started sending SMS alerts, warning its customers against carrying out cryptocurrency transactions through its banking channels.

The bank opines that all virtual assets/cryptocurrencies are illegal and its customers should refrain from undertaking such transactions using any of its channels.

“Dear Customer, Virtual Currencies/Coins/Tokens, etc. are not legal tender, issued or guaranteed by the Govt of Pakistan and State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has not authorized or licensed any individual or entity for the same. Kindly avoid conducting such transactions from any channel pertaining to Bank Alfalah,” reads the text message.

This development comes less than a day after the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) submitted a report before a panel of the Sindh High Court (SHC) to unequivocally state that cryptocurrencies are illegal and cannot be traded.

After reviewing the report, an SHC panel had directed the Law and Finance Ministries to conduct a joint study of cryptocurrencies and submit an inclusive report by 12 April on whether the said financial instrument should be banned altogether or allowed to be used as a genuine store of value based on an acceptable legal framework.

In the past few weeks alone, the world of cryptocurrencies has been rocked by a slew of regulatory twisters in Pakistan as local authorities seem to intensify crackdown against illicit financial streams.

Almost a week ago, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) issued a notice to Binance in relation to a mega-scam involving 11 Binance-linked applications, through which fraudsters looted over $100 million (Rs. 17.68 billion) from Pakistani investors. Another two weeks earlier, the federal watchdog seized bank accounts of 1,064 individuals who had carried out 2,923 transactions worth a whopping Rs. 51 million through numerous online crypto exchanges, including Binance, Coinbase, and Coinmama.

Sources told ProPakistani that credit cards associated with bank accounts, which had traces of transactions in cryptocurrencies, were blocked by multiple banks. Moreover, the bank accounts of individuals who had been using Binance P2P to buy or sell cryptocurrencies were also frozen.

Source: Pro Pakistani

Pakistan’s liquid foreign reserves witnessed an outflow of $118 million in the first week of 2022 that ended on January 7, 2021, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

The central bank’s weekly report released on Thursday revealed that the country’s total liquid foreign exchange reserves went down on January 7, 2021, to $23,9 billion. SBP’s reserves fell by $88 million to $17.59 billion during the week under review, compared to $17.68 billion on December 31.

Meanwhile, the net foreign reserves held by the commercial banks amounted to $6.303 billion, depicting a decline of $29 million on a weekly basis.

Overall, the liquid foreign currency reserves held by the country, including net reserves held by banks other than SBP stood at $23.901 million, down $118 million on a week-over-week basis.

Foreign exchange reserves continue to take big hits over rising inflationary concerns observed at domestic and global levels.

Globally and in advanced economies, inflation has been rising at its highest ever rate since 2008. Given the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to disrupt global economic activity in the near term. The slowdown is expected to coincide with a widening divergence in growth rates between advanced and emerging or developing economies.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani Rupee (PKR) reversed gains against the US Dollar (USD) in the interbank market on Thursday. It depreciated by 15 paisas against the greenback and closed at Rs. 176.38 after the local exchange succumbed to the intraday threat of value shredding.

Source: Pro Pakistani

All Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA), Islamabad Thursday termed its meetings with the federal and provincial governments as futile as they did not produce any solid outcome in the issues facing the sugar industry.

In a statement, a PSMA spokesman said that the promises made by the government were not fulfilled. He said the fixing of sugar prices became the talk of the town, though the government had vowed to run the sugar industry on a competitive basis. Neither the government has eliminated the middle-men of sugarcane nor did it ensure availability of crops at the government-fixed rate of Rs. 225 per maund, added the spokesman.

He maintained that no development was witnessed in the cases of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the Competition Commission of Pakistan against the sugar industry. He held that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) had also imposed hefty fines on the tax returns of the last five years, but no progress had been made to quash these fines despite promises.

He highlighted that these measures were creating continuous problems for the sugar industry. “Though the government promised to resolve these issues, no positive outcome has come out of it so far,” he said.

During the meeting, all PSMA members requested the government to resolve these problems in order to save the country’s sugar industry. They said the survival of the sugar industry was essential for the country’s agriculture and farmers. Turning a blind eye to these issues is tantamount to badly destroying the sugar industry, the country’s economy, farmers, and agriculture, they concluded.

Source: Pro Pakistani

The National Assembly is in progress to vote on the Finance Supplementary Bill 2021. The session started with Speaker Asad Qaiser in the chair.

Meanwhile, a motion seeking to circulate the Finance (Supplementary) Bill, 2021 for eliciting opinion on it from the lawmakers belonging to the opposition was rejected with a majority vote.

On the demand of the opposition, the Speaker ordered voting on the motion. A total of 150 lawmakers voted in favor of the motion, while 168 others opposed it.

A lawmaker from Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPPP), Shazia Marri, moved an amendment by citing Rule 124 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007 and demanded to circulate the bill related to the mini-budget.

She said that the public should be given the right to decide about the bill and it should be circulated for eliciting opinion.

The clause-by-clause passage of the Finance (Supplementary) Bill is in progress.

Speaking in the house, Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin said the purpose of the Finance (Supplementary) Bill was to document the economy. He announced that the government had decided to not withdraw tax exemptions on basic essential items such as milk, bread, laptop, and solar panels.

He asserted that the economy was growing, and it was expected to touch five percent growth during the current fiscal year. He pointed out that there was an unprecedented growth of 35 percent in revenue collection. He said the remittances and exports were also witnessing growth. There has been a bumper production of five crops because of our investment in the agriculture sector, he highlighted.

Shaukat Tarin said the government was focusing on inclusive and sustainable growth. “We are providing health cards to the households under which each family is entitled to medical treatment worth one million rupees annually.”

He said the government had launched Kamyab Pakistan Program under which interest-free loans were being given for agriculture and businesses in addition to loans for construction of houses.

Amendments to the Finance (Supplementary) Bill were also moved by Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) MNA Kishwar Zahra. In his response to these amendments, the Finance Minister said most of the demands had been accommodated. To this, the MQM MNA thanked the Prime Minister and withdrew the amendments.

Responding to criticism from the opposition, Shaukat Tarin said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had called for imposing a value-added tax at the time when he was previously serving a the Finance Minister. He emphasized the need for documenting the economy, stating that people’s incomes were not being taxed because they did not fall under the tax net.

He informed the house that some taxes in the mini-budget had been removed. He said this was about “documentation not taxes”.

Chairman PPP Bilalwal Bhutto Zardari said that some lawmakers from Karachi had moved amendments and expressed their reservations over the mini-budget. He called upon them to reject the Finance Bill and work with the opposition to steer the country out of the economic situation.

Responding to the Chairman PPP, the Finance Minister said the opposition had claimed that the government was sacrificing the country’s economic sovereignty and national security. “But they went to the IMF approximately 13 times. Did they give up our economic sovereignty each time?” Tarin asked.

The approval of the Finance (Supplementary) Bill seeking to amend certain laws related to taxes and duties and the State Bank of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill 2021, both tabled on December 30, is necessary to ensure that Pakistan’s sixth review of the $6 billion Extended Fund Facility gets cleared by IMF executive board.

Source: Pro Pakistani

The Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat, in its meeting, on Thursday, at Parliament Lodges, discussed in detail the impact of furnace oil import on oil refineries and recurrent LNG issues.

It also took stringent notice of the issues related to the promotion criteria of the Central Selection Board. Chairman Committee, Senator Rana Maqbool Ahmed, was of the view that these are issues of utmost importance that impact numerous lives and therefore must be dealt with responsibly. He stressed the need to revisit redundant policies and ensure that these are replaced with rules and strategies that benefit the masses.

Senator Saadia Abbasi, Senator Khalida Ateeb, Senator Saifullah Sarwar Khan Nyazee, Senator Talha Mehmood attended the meeting, along with senior officers of the Establishment Division, Government of Balochistan, OGRA, and PTDC. The Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Ali Muhammad Khan, was also present.

Deliberating over procurement of furnace oil instead of LNG at exorbitant rates, Chairman OGRA, and other government officials were directed to apprise the committee on the reasons for not acquiring LNG when it was available in global markets at the rate of $4.0 per unit as opposed to $30.5 at this time.

The committee demanded an inquiry related to the closure of two local foundries as a result of producing high-cost energy via importing furnace oil at inflated rates. Asserting that this was a classic example of unimaginative planning, the Chairman Committee, Senator Rana Maqbool Ahmed, said that this process might be tainted with ulterior motives. A report on the fiasco is to be submitted within two weeks.

Discussing promotion criteria of the Central Selection Board Secretary Establishment was instructed to revisit the promotion criteria and Objective Assessment Form for the Central Selection Board. It was asserted that the process must be rationalized since it leaves much to the discretion of board members. Objectivity and justifiability were stressed.

The committee directed the Establishment Division to submit a report on the matter within four weeks. It emphasized the need for the government to revise the promotion policy so that officers considered for promotion may be assessed based on concrete evidence. Discouragement of subjective views was stressed. Chairman Committee, Senator Rana Maqbool Ahmed, was of the view that the career of the officers must be judged most impartially.

Data regarding appeals of overlooked officers along with details of action taken is to be submitted within two weeks, along with information of pending ACRs, till the calendar year 2020. The Establishment Division has been directed to ensure that reasons for non-promotion are conveyed to the candidates to reduce grievance. Briefing and debriefing sessions of Board Members were stressed to ensure objectivity and transparency of the process.

Taking up the matter of a public petition submitted by Chairman MK Pakistan, Mr. Malik Muhammad Khan, regarding transfer and possession of 172 acres of PTDC land in Balochistan that was claimed to be purchased by the complainant, the committee was apprised by the Government of Balochistan that the matter is being investigated by NAB. The committee directed that representatives of NAB Balochistan be summoned in the next meeting for a complete briefing on the issue.

Source: Pro Pakistani

Amid the National Assembly session on the Finance (Supplementary) Bill, 2021 and the prevailing LNG shortage, the electricity consumers have again been burdened with fuel cost adjustment for the month of November, as National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has notified a per-unit increase of Rs. 4.30 for the January 2022 bills.

NEPRA has issued a notification, accepting the CPPA [Central Power Purchasing Agency] application for the month of November 2021, and allowed a raise of Rs 4.30 in the per-unit cost of electricity. This raise will be added to the consumers power bills for January and it is in line with the November monthly fuel adjustment.

In a dissenting note on the decision, Member Sindh NEPRA Rafique Ahmed Sheikh said the shortage of LNG had put an additional burden on the people. He said the burden should be laid on CPPA, and not everything should be added and accepted as demanded by CPPA.

According to the NEPRA notification, the price increase in January bills will not be applicable to electric and lifeline customers.

On 29 December 2021, NEPRA held a hearing into the CPPA petition seeking the increase in the per-unit cost of electricity. The reference fuel price for the month of November is Rs 3.74 per unit. If the application is approved, consumers will face an additional burden of more than Rs. 40 billion.

According to the CCPA request, 8.24 billion units of electricity were generated in November. The production cost of electricity came to Rs. 66.52 billion.

In November, 33.21 percent of electricity was generated from water and 16.26 percent from coal. Furnace oil generated 1.71 percent while domestic gas generated 12.89 percent. 14.25 percent of electricity was generated from imported LNG, while 17.51 percent of electricity was generated from nuclear fuel.

Source: Pro Pakistani

The National Assembly (NA) has passed the contentious Finance (Supplementary) Bill, sometimes known as the “mini-budget,” in the penultimate hour of the day, in a longer session with fierce resistance from opposition benches.

The NA approved the government’s revisions to the proposed bill. MQM MNA Kishwar Zahra also proposed revisions to the finance bill, to which the finance minister responded that most of the demands had been met. The MQM MNA responded by thanking the premier and foreign minister and withdrawing the amendments.

It was informed that small stores will not be taxed on bread, chapattis, sheermal, naans, vermicelli, buns, and rusk, according to revisions made by the government to Clause 3 of the law. The sale of these items will be taxed at tier-one merchants, restaurants, food chains, and sweet shops.

Domestic and hybrid cars at 1,800 cc will be subject to an 8.5 percent sales tax. Hybrid vehicles from 1,801 to 2,500 cc will be subject to a 12.75 percent tax, while imported electric vehicles would be subject to a 12.5 percent levy.

A 200g carton of milk would not be subject to general sales tax, while formula milk worth more than Rs. 500 will be subject to a 17 percent GST. Imported car taxes were also raised from 5 percent to 12.5 percent as a result of the amendments. All imported automobiles will be subject to the same federal excise duty.

The duty on locally built 1,300 cc automobiles will be 2.5 percent, down from the 5 percent recommended earlier and accepted during the session.

The tariff on domestically locally 1,300 to 2,000 cc cars was also decreased from 10 percent to 5 percent. Locally made cars with displacements of more than 2,100 cc will face a 10% duty.

Likewise, Clauses 5 and 6 of the government’s amendments were accepted.

Source: Pro Pakistani