MediaLine Pakistan

With a total of 1.4 million vehicles registered in Islamabad with the Excise and Taxation Office (ETO), the revenue stream of the Excise and Taxation Office (ETO) has increased from Rs. 4.5 billion to Rs. 8 billion despite the prevalence of the COVID-9 pandemic.

This information surfaced during a briefing of ETO of the Islamabad Capital Territory Administration to a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Interior chaired by Senator Mohsin Aziz in Islamabad on Thursday.

In his briefing, an ETO Director said ETO’s revenue was earlier Rs. 4.5 billion, adding that the revenue reached Rs. 8 billion since March 2019 despite the pandemic. He informed the Committee that about 1.4 million vehicles were registered with the office in Islamabad.

Senator Mohsin Aziz, the Chairman of the panel, said a lot of complaints were being received regarding malfunctions in ETO. He also sought from ETO the details of stolen vehicles within five days.

The committee provided questionnaires to ETO officials, asking them to submit their responses in the next meeting.

Source: Pro Pakistani

The Pakistani Rupee recovered from yesterday’s record low against the US Dollar today. Following the trend from previous weeks, the rupee closed the week with small gains and appreciated by 18 paisas against the dollar to close at 170.48.

The local currency appreciated after logging consecutive record lows over the last few days. On Thursday, it slid to a new all-time low against the US Dollar (USD) at 170.66 after closing the day at over 170 for the first time ever on Wednesday.

The market research firm Capital Stakes said that the Pakistani Rupee (PKR) has depreciated by 61 percent since 2015. It added that the PKR has lost 0.83 percent and 6.66 percent in value on week-over-week and year-to-date bases respectively.

Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves declined by $252 million in the week that ended on 24 September, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday.

Fitch Ratings published a report saying that it expects the rupee to depreciate even further in 2022. It downgraded its forecasts for the PKR’s average rate against the USD to 180 in 2022 as compared to its prior projection of 165.

Chase Manhattan Bank’s former Treasury Head, Asad Rizvi, tweeted that the decline in the SBP’s foreign exchange reserves could mean a further widening of the current account deficit.

The PKR also gained 32 paisas against the Pound Sterling (GBP), and 13 paisas against the Australian Dollar (AUD).

In contrast, it depreciated 69 paisas against the Euro, two paisas against the Canadian Dollar (CAD), and five paisas each against the Saudi Riyal (SAR) and the United Arab Emirates Dirham (AED).

Source: Pro Pakistani

A UK-based financial institution called CDC Group has announced that it has made an anchor investment in Techxila Fund I — a fund managed by venture capital firm Fatima Gobi Ventures.

The institution said that it aims to help Fatima Gobi Ventures (FGV) promote domestic venture capitalist markets and direct funding to early-stage startups.

It said in a statement that its commitment will “help to boost Techxila Fund I investments in Pakistan-focused early stage startups, helping to drive transformational impact and spurring economic and social development in the country”.

CDC Group revealed that it seeks to expand FGV’s investment portfolio across a diverse range of verticals. It also aims to support FGV in focusing on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices in its investments. It added that FGV has already invested in more than 40 percent of Pakistan’s recent record-breaking funding deals.

The venture capital firm’s Techxila Fund I backed logistics startup Airlift’s seed round in August 2019, after which the company raised $85 million in a record-breaking Series B round for a Pakistani startup.

Techxila also backed online marketplace Tajir in June, which raised a US$17 million Series A round led by US VC Kleiner Perkins.

The fund then participated in fintech startup TAG’s $12 million follow-up seed round, the largest seed round in the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan region.

The General Partner for FGV, Ali Mukhtar, said, “We have been the most active investor in Pakistan in 2021 and our companies are also strong ESG proponents, whether it is bringing economies of scale to SME retailers, digitizing local supply chains, or building Pakistan’s first digital retail bank”.

“Now, FGV can leverage CDC’s expertise in ESG, sustainability, and impact matters for the benefit of Techxila’s portfolio companies,” he added.

CDC Group’s Country Director, Pakistan, Habib Yousuf, stated that the institution is excited to work with FGV to support Pakistan’s nascent startup sector.

“Pakistan is a key VC market for CDC, due to the depth of entrepreneurial talent in a large and growing domestic market, with numerous opportunities for delivering impact through tech-enabled business models,” he said.

Source: Pro Pakistani

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has finally extended the date for filing income tax returns for tax year 2021 by 15 days i.e upto 14th October 2021.

A notification has just been issued, confirming that the deadline for filing of tax returns has been extended till 15 October owing to serious technical problems in the Bureau’s online return filing system Iris.

Earlier, the FBR had reiterated its stance that it will not extend the deadline for people seeking to file their tax returns. However, understanding the woes of the business community and unprecedented technical issues encountered by filers due to server errors, the FBR has pushed the return filing deadline by another 2 weeks.

Moreover, the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) has urged the FBR to abolish the added surcharge on late filers in case of the expiry of the deadline.

Source: Pro Pakistani