ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Friday the digitization of the country’s tax system was a top government priority to prevent tax evasion worth billions of rupee and meet a challenging tax revenue target of 13 trillion rupees ($46.66 billion) for the new fiscal year that started July 1, a near 40 percent jump from last year.
The South Asian country has set challenging revenue targets in its annual budget to help it win approval from the IMF for a loan to stave off another economic meltdown, even as domestic anger rises at new taxation measures.
On Thursday, Pakistan’s tax authority said it has blocked 210,000 SIM cards of users who have not filed tax returns in a bid to widen the revenue bracket. In May, Pakistan signed an agreement with consulting giant McKinsey and Company for the digitalization of its tax system.
Sharif chaired a meeting on Friday to review the reforms process of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), instructing it to bring taxable non-filers into the tax net.
“The meeting was told that during the FBR digitization [process], 4.5 million taxable individuals have been identified who were not part of the tax net,” state-run APP reported, adding that over 300,000 people had fixed tax returns within the last few weeks due to new government measures.
“Refunds of 4,000 companies have been stopped during the last two weeks, following the detection of under-invoicing and forged sales tax refunds,” APP said. “The prime minister said that the tax evaders as well as the officers and staffers facilitating them would be punished and vowed not to spare those plundering the public kitty.”
The premier also sought a report on the magnitude of tax evasion and the measures for its prevention.
“He vowed to introduce a taxation system of international standard in the country and called for engaging well reputed professionals and experts for formulation of tax policy.”
Among reforms the IMF is pushing for a new bailout package, like the last two loans, are strengthening public finances including through gradual fiscal consolidation, broadening the existing tax base, improving tax administration, and debt sustainability.
Pakistan is in talks with the lender for a loan of $6 billion to $8 billion, as it seeks to avert a default for an economy growing at the slowest pace in the region.
The rise in the tax target is made up of a 48 percent increase in direct taxes and a 35 percent hike in indirect taxes over revised estimates of the current year. Non-tax revenue, including petroleum levies, is seen increasing by 64 percent.
The tax would increase to 18 percent on textile and leather products as well as mobile phones besides a hike in the tax on capital gains from real estate. Workers will also get hit with more direct tax on income.
Opposition parties, mainly parliamentarians backed by the jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan, and major trade bodies have rejected the budget and tax measures, calling them highly inflationary.
Pakistan says digitization of tax system top priority amid efforts to widen revenue base
https://arab.news/62wvy
Pakistan says digitization of tax system top priority amid efforts to widen revenue base
- Pakistan’s tax authority recently blocked 210,000 SIM cards of users who have not filed tax returns
- In May, Pakistan signed an agreement with McKinsey and Company for digitalization of its tax system
Pakistan says 30% of its vehicles will be electric by 2030
- Hybrid electric vehicle sales in Pakistan have more than doubled in past year
- Global EV giant BYD Group has obtained manufacturing license in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Privatization Minister Abdul Aleem Khan said on Thursday 30% of vehicles in Pakistan would be converted to electric by 2030, state media widely reported, as the South Asian country takes step to combat air pollution and other climate change effects.
The minister was echoing the government’s New Energy Vehicle (NEV) policy released on Wednesday, which is aimed at transitioning 30 percent of all new vehicles — imported and locally manufactured — to electric power by 2030.
Hybrid electric vehicle sales in Pakistan have more than doubled in the past year. BYD Pakistan, a partnership between China’s BYD and Pakistani car group Mega Motors, said in September up to 50 percent of all vehicles bought in Pakistan by 2030 will be electrified in some form in line with global targets.
Warren Buffett-backed Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD announced its entry into Pakistan in August, making the nation of 250 million people one of its newest markets.
“Pakistan aims to convert thirty percent of its vehicles to electric by 2030,” Khan said as he addressed the “Transport and Digital Middle Corridor and Beyond” session at the ongoing UN COP29 summit in Baku.
“Significant steps are underway to support the widespread adoption of electric vehicles in Pakistan … the government is actively working on infrastructure development for EVs, including the installation of charging stations.”
Local media reported in August that standards for EV charging stations had been drafted by the power ministry, with the government considering offering them affordable electricity.
Under the new EV policy, the government has introduced subsidies of Rs50,000 for electric motorcycles and Rs200,000 for three-wheelers like rickshaws, with a total allocation of Rs4 billion. These subsidies will be distributed through auctions. So far, two companies have been granted licenses, and 31 more applications are under review.
The policy also incorporates a reduction in the policy rate from 22 to 15 percent, with financing available at a 3 percent Kibor (Karachi Interbank Offered Rate) and the government covering the financial cost. Consumers will pay monthly installments of around Rs9,000 over two years, an amount lower than their projected fuel savings.
A Credit Loss Guarantee managed by the Finance Division will ensure no financial burden on the Ministry of Industries or consumers.
Additional initiatives include offering free electric bikes or scooters to 120 high-achieving students and reducing duties on EV components to encourage local manufacturing. The government is also set to establish a New Energy Fund and a New Energy Vehicle Center to support these measures.
BYD Pakistan is collaborating with two oil marketing companies to establish a charging infrastructure network and aims to establish 20 to 30 charging stations within the initial phases concurrent with the rollout of its cars.
BYD Pakistan will initially sell fully assembled vehicles, which are subject to higher import charges than vehicles shipped in parts and assembled locally. Dewan Motors is also set to launch its EVs under the completely knocked down (CKD) license.
Pakistan voices ‘deep regret’ as US vetoes UN Security Council resolution on Gaza ceasefire
- 15-member UN council voted on a resolution put forward by 10 non-permanent members
- Only US voted against, using its veto as permanent council member to block resolution
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday expressed “deep regret” over the United States vetoing a UN Security Council resolution for a ceasefire in Gaza, which has drawn criticism of the Biden administration for once again blocking international action aimed at halting Israel’s war in the besieged enclave.
The 15-member council voted on a resolution put forward by 10 non-permanent members that called for an “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” in the 13-month conflict and separately demanded the release of hostages. Only the US voted against it, using its veto as a permanent council member to block the resolution.
“We deeply regret that even now a resolution calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire has been vetoed by the sole negative vote of a permanent member of the Council,” Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Munir Akram, told the state APP news agency.
Robert Wood, deputy US ambassador to the UN, said Washington had made clear it would only support a resolution that explicitly called for the immediate release of hostages as part of a ceasefire.
“A durable end to the war must come with the release of the hostages. These two urgent goals are inextricably linked. This resolution abandoned that necessity, and for that reason, the United States could not support it,” he said.
Wood said the US had sought compromise, but the text of the proposed resolution would have sent a “dangerous message” to Hamas that “there’s no need to come back to the negotiating table.”
Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed nearly 44,000 people and displaced nearly all of the enclave’s population at least once. It was launched in response to an attack by Hamas fighters who killed 1,200 people and captured more than 250 hostages in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
With inputs from Reuters
Gulf countries have identified $19 billion investment portfolio for Pakistan — planning minister
- Pakistan has been pushing for foreign investment in recent months in a bid to shore up its $350 billion economy
- Rollovers, loans from Saudi Arabia, UAE, China have helped Pakistan meet external financing needs in the past
ISLAMABAD: Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said on Thursday Gulf nations like Saudi Arabia and the UAE, among others, had identified a $19 billion investment portfolio for Pakistan, while China was now entering phase two of a multi-billion-dollar economic corridor project.
Pakistan has been pushing for foreign investment in recent months in a bid to shore up its $350 billion economy as it navigates a tough reforms agenda mandated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“The world, which was viewing Pakistan as a failed economy, is once more looking at Pakistan with hope,” Iqbal said as he addressed a ceremony in Islamabad.
“China is extending its hand in the form of phase two of CPEC [China-Pakistan Economic Corridor]. Our friendly nations, Gulf countries, which include Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Azerbaijan, they have together identified a $19 billion portfolio under which they can invest in Pakistan. So, all these opportunities are once again knocking at our door.”
Rollovers or disbursements on loans from Pakistan’s long-time allies Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and China, in addition to financing from the IMF, have helped Pakistan meet its external financing needs in the past.
Last month, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed investment agreements worth $2.8 billion while Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has pledged to expedite a $5 billion investment portfolio for Islamabad.
The UAE committed this May it would invest $10 billion in promising economic sectors. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also said this week Azerbaijan had pledged to invest $3 billion in multiple sectors of Pakistan’s economy.
Pakistan and the IMF signed a $7 billion loan program in September.
Pakistan’s economy has struggled for decades with boom-and-bust cycles, needing 23 IMF bailouts since 1958.
Two new species of cobia fish found off Gwadar coast in northern Arabian Sea
- New study published in the peer-reviewed academic journal Zoologischer Anzeiger
- Research team found species during study of commercially popular black king cobia
ISLAMABAD: Two newly identified species of the cobia fish have been found off Pakistan’s Gwadar coast in the northern Arabian Sea, according to a new study published in the peer-reviewed academic journal Zoologischer Anzeiger, whose latest edition came out this month.
The cobia is a species of marine carangiform ray-finned fish, whose other common names include black kingfish, black salmon, ling, lemonfish, crabeater, prodigal son, codfish, and black bonito.
“This study describes two newly identified species, Rachycentron blochii sp. nov. and Rachycentron makranesis sp. nov. from Gwadar in the northern Arabian Sea,” said the study, authored by Dr. Sher Khan Panhwar and Dr. Imtiaz Kashani, professors at the Center of Excellence in Marine Biology at the University of Karachi.
“The newly discovered species differ significantly from their relatives in multiple morphological traits, such as head profile, mouth, pectoral fin, caudal fin, caudal peduncle, dorsal and anal fin bases, gill rakers, and body coloration.”
The recent finding increases the number of cobia species in the northern Arabian Sea, Pakistan, the study says, presenting information on the species’ biological and ecological aspects such as feeding habits, age assessment, habitat preferences and fishery-related details.
The research was financially supported by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan through its National Research Programme for Universities project.
“At first glance, I thought it was another black king cobia but when I looked closer at the markings on its body, I knew it was different,” Dr. Panhwar told Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper, explaining that he was traveling with students on a routine survey of the Gwadar fish harbor last year when he spotted the new species. The team was there to study the black king cobia or Rachycentron canadum, a commercially popular large fish found around the world.
Fresh specimens weighing between 4 and 7 kg were immediately cooled in dry-ice and packed into ice boxes for transportation to the fisheries laboratory at the University of Karachi, some 650km away from the Gwadar harbor.
Back at the laboratory, Dr. Panhwar and his colleague Dr. Kashani analyzed the unusual cobias, examining their appearance, dissecting them, and comparing them with the typical species.
The two new species have been named the Blotchy Cobia, a nod to the large gray markings found on its body as well as to the Balochi language spoken in the region. The other one will be called Makran Cobia, named after the Makran coast where it was found.
“At this time, these species of cobia have only been spotted in Pakistan,” Panhwar told Dawn.
After bail in state gifts case, new charges filed against Pakistan’s Imran Khan
- Khan has been named in case relating to alleged violence by his supporters during a rally in September
- Khan, who has been in jail since August 2023, says all cases against him are politically motivated
ISLAMABAD: Rawalpindi police said on Thursday they had filed fresh charges against former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan related to violence at a party rally in September, a day after a court granted the ex-premier bail in a case involving the illegal sale of gifts from a state repository.
On Wednesday, the Islamabad High Court granted Khan bail in the new Toshakhana case, filed in July and involving a jewelry set worth over €380,000 gifted to the former first lady by a foreign dignitary when Khan was prime minister from 2018-2022. The couple is accused of undervaluing the gift and buying it at a lesser price from the state repository.
Before the new case was filed, Khan, who has been in jail since last August, was convicted in four cases. Two of the cases have since been suspended, including an original one relating to state gifts, while he was acquitted in the remaining two.
“A case has been registered for arson, stone pelting, resisting the police, damage to government property and other incidents,” Rawalpindi Police announced on X, reading the charges against Khan in connection to a protest held by his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party in September.
“Investigation team headed by SSP Investigation is investigating Imran Khan. Khan will be produced in court to obtain physical remand.”
Charges have also been filed in the case against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and a number of PTI leaders, including Seemabia Tahir, Amir Mughar and Aliya Hamza.
The police report of the case, which was filed on Sept. 28, the day of the rally, lists terrorism, attempted murder, vandalism, destruction of public and state property, and interference in government operations as the main charges. It says participants of the PTI rally created unrest, obstructed public access by burning tires and caused difficulties for citizens.
It also charges PTI leaders and supporters of raising anti-government slogans, hurling stones at the police and attacking them with iron rods during the protest.
Several police vehicles were damaged by PTI rallygoers and one police officer was injured, the report says.
Khan was in prison when the Sept. 28 rally took place. The former premier denies any wrongdoing, and alleges all the cases registered against him since he was removed from power in 2022 are politically motivated to keep him in jail.
