Business

Former advocate general of Balochistan and president of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), Amanullah Kanrani, has said that provincial governments are trying to pave the way for the Tethyan Copper Company (TTC) to get its hand on the Reko Diq mine despite the Supreme Court having declared the mining agreement void. He said that this would conflict with the country’s laws.

The federal government has restructured its short-term domestic debt by quietly issuing long-term Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs) to the central bank. This has dramatically increased the share of long-term debt to Rs15.3 trillion or 74% of the total domestic debt. This took place under a condition of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Commercial Attaché of Afghanistan in Pakistan Sameena Wadeer recently visited the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry and exchanged views with the local business community on the promotion of bilateral trade and investment prospects between the two neighbouring countries. She said that Afghanistan was introducing a lot of reforms in its business sector to promote trade activities.

Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar has ordered strict actions against transporters involved in overcharging on Eid ul Azha. He has directed officers of the transport department and the administration to personally visit bus terminals and check fares. Additionally, he has directed provincial ministers to keep a check on fares as well.

The power sector has achieved in its revenues a record increase of over Rs121 billion while curtailing line losses worth Rs16bn, or 1.4 per cent. A report said that the present government had launched a number of initiatives to reform the sector to make electricity in the country affordable and available to all.

Trade and industry representatives said they are supporting the government’s decision of banning trade with India, stressing the country comes before their demands. Chairman Site Association of Industry Saleem Parekh said processing mills may face problems as they had booked Indian dyes and chemicals consignments two to three months back while many shipments were on the high seas.

The price of 24 karat gold jumped by Rs. 200 and was traded at Rs. 87,000 per tola as compared to the last closing at Rs. 86,800, Karachi Sarafa Association reported on Friday. In international market the price of per ounce gold soared by $ 02 and was traded at $ 1502 as compared to the last closing at $ 1500.

FBR said a business, which was not registered for sales tax and did not have a 13-digit sales tax registration number (STRN), was not authorized to charge sales tax. The FBR stated that the general public had lodged complaints against businessmen, who were charging sales tax from consumers without being registered with the board under the Sales Tax Act-1990.

 The National Development Council (NDC) has decided to grant tax concessions to business units that would be set up at the Gwadar Free Zone under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) — an issue that has remained in limbo for the last three years over fears that the move would adversely impact other economic zones of the country.

FBR has received 2.5million income tax returns for Tax Year 2018, depicting over 47 percent growth in number of filers as compared to 1.7 million returns received last fiscal year. 7,50,000 new people have filed their income tax returns. The FBR had set a target to receive 4 million income tax returns by the end of December, 2019.