Weekly News Roundup

January 5, 2020 (MLN): The first week of the year 2020 witnessed series of economic and business events. Following are the highlights of those important events.

On Friday, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh thanked Sheikh Muhammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi for announcing $200 Million support to Pakistan after meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan.

On Thursday, Government further reduced the rate of profit on national savings scheme.

Meanwhile, Employees Old Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) Chairman Azhar Hameed informed that the institution will be paying Rs 40 billion to the pensioners by June 2020 as the institution had already raised their annuity by 30 per cent this year.

Moreover, amendments in the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 have been issued to simplify the tax regime for non-resident companies investing in debt instruments and Government securities.

On Wednesday, adviser to Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh directed the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to aggressively follow up its agreement with the traders to expand the tax base and work optimally to enroll nearly 20,000 points of sales in the country.

Furthermore, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) revamped the initial public offering (IPO) regime to make the IPO process simple, cost-effective and more efficient.

In addition, the SBP updated National Risk Assessment (NRA) on Money Laundering (ML) and Terrorist Financing (TF) in 2019. The SBP made obligatory regulations for Banks/ DFIs/ MFBs to concentrate regarding “know your customers” and “due diligence” for ML and TF.

Besides, the Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) achieved a historic milestone by completing the financial close of Phase II of Mining and Power Projects in Thar Block II.

The same day, the National Electric and Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) allowed K-Electric (KE) a substantial increase of around Rs 4.8/kWh in power tariffs for their customers on account of Quarterly tariff adjustment.

On Tuesday, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) issued a price-revision notification of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) for the month of January as per which, the authority increased the locally produced LPG price by Rs 278.48 per cylinder of 11.8 kilogram.

The same day, Pakistan Customs drafted Risk Management System Rules for clearance of cargo as was required under Article 7.4 of Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) of World Trade Organization (WTO).

Meanwhile, the Federal Board of Revenue extended the date of filing of Income Tax Returns/Statements for the Tax Year 2019 which was due on 30^th September 2019 and extended up to 31^st December 2019 is hereby further extended up to 31^st January 1, 2020.

On Monday, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet in its meeting, approved withdrawal of regulatory duty/customs duty and additional customs duty on imported cotton, and for allowing import of cotton through the Torkham Border.

Moreover, National Electric and Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) permitted K-Electric (KE) to collect consumer tariff on account of variation in fuel charges from July 2016 to June 2019.

Lastly, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) proposed an increase in the prices of Petroleum Products.

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