Category: Industry

Data from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has revealed that Jazz leads the chart with 6,407 complaints, followed by Telenor as the second-most complaint about telecommunications operators with 5,149 complaints.

Zong was third with 2,701 complaints, and Ufone had 1,043 complaints about its services, according to the data.

The PTA received 15,863 complaints from telecom consumers against different telecom operators, including (cellular operators, PTCL, LDIs, WLL operators, and ISPs) in November 2021. The PTA said that it was able to resolve 96 percent (15,270) of the complaints.

Cellular mobile subscribers constitute a major part of the overall telecom subscriber base. Therefore, the maximum number of complaints belongs to this segment. The total number of complaints against CMOs by November stood at 15,311. However, Jazz is the largest cellular operator overall with respect to the ratio of subscribers, and hence the number of complaints was higher.

The PTA also received 229 complaints against basic telephony, of which 218 were addressed in November 2021. Furthermore, 310 complaints were received against ISPs, where 300 were addressed.

Source: Pro Pakistani

The Pakistani Rupee (PKR) fell to another new all-time low against the US Dollar (USD) and depreciated by 10 paisas against the greenback in the interbank market today. It hit an intra-day low of Rs. 178.57 against the USD during today’s open market session.

The PKR depreciated by 0.06 percent against the USD and closed at Rs. 178.15 today after it lost one paisa and closed at 178.05 in the interbank market on Tuesday, 21 December.

The local currency has lost 13.08 percent on a fiscal-year-to-date basis after recording another historic low today besides depreciating by 11.46 percent on a calendar-year-to-date basis.

While the rupee continues to post historic drops against the dollar, an interesting development on the sidelines suggests that Afghanistan may soon receive supportive liquidity from the United States through a channel of licensed UN agencies.

The development was announced at a news conference in Washington DC after a State Department official said that the US would be more flexible on financial restrictions imposed on Afghanistan following the Taliban’s takeover. He stated that the US had backed the delivery of $280 million to Afghanistan from a World Bank fund last week.

It is pertinent to note that the US had contributed $208 million in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan since August, bringing the total to $475 million this year.

These first signs of flexibility in favor of the war-torn country could offer support to Pakistan’s exchange unit as well since its devaluation was a consequence of the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021.

In light of the PKR’s interbank performance during the trading hours earlier today, the former Treasury Head of Chase Manhattan Bank, Asad Rizvi, remarked in a news column that Pakistan’s approach to addressing currency problems has been unquestionably yielding the desired outcomes so far.

The positive developments include improved efforts made by banks to speed up the procedure and open new branches. Some banks provide new products to non-resident Pakistanis in order to gain consumers. Incentives are often given to banks to recruit new customers, which will help put substantial support behind the local unit in the near term, Rizvi added.

The PKR resumed its declining trend against most of the other major currencies as well. It posted losses of 55 paisas against the Pound Sterling (GBP), 40 paisas against the Canadian Dollar (CAD), and 41 paisas against the Australian Dollar (AUD).

It also posted a losses of over two paisas against both the UAE Dirham (AED) and the Saudi Riyal (SAR) in today’s interbank currency market.

Conversely, the rupee appreciated against the Euro (EUR) and posted gains of 49 paisas in today’s interbank currency market.

Source: Pro Pakistani

Advisor to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue, Shaukat Tarin, emphasized the significance of Automation of processes at the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and deemed it crucial in facilitating taxpayers.

He made these remarks while chairing a meeting on Automation at FBR (HQs), Islamabad, on December 22, 2021. The meeting was attended by Chairman FBR/Secretary Revenue Division, Dr. Muhammad Ashfaq Ahmed, Member FBR (IT), Dr. Ashfaq Ahmad Tunio, Chief Information Officer (CIO), Mr. Mansoor Sultan, and Chairman of Board of Governors PRAL, Syed Javed.

The Advisor on Finance and Revenue was briefed on the progress made on the automation initiatives, data center up-gradation, and initiatives on data security at offices of the tax machinery. The Advisor emphasized the critical importance of automation for taxpayer facilitation, administrative efficiency, and transparency.

He also directed FBR to take all necessary measures for ensuring the security of taxpayers’ data and remarked that all the required resources would be made available for the desired purpose. He further added that a proper monitoring mechanism must be established for signature initiatives taken by the government.

Source: Pro Pakistani

The federal cabinet has postponed the ratification of the proposed Rs. 360 billion mini-budget and a contentious central bank autonomy legislation to analyze government capital and national security.

The government has delayed the announcement for the imposition of taxes to the tune of Rs. 360 billion, according to a report by Express Tribune. It has also deferred a cabinet motion of the State Bank of Pakistan Amendment Bill, 2021, in order to meet the pre-conditions set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The Federal Minister for Information, Fawad Chaudhry, said that while the (Supplementary) Finance Bill (mini-budget) had been pulled from Tuesday’s cabinet meeting agenda, the bill will be presented again in the coming days. Moreover, both the SBP Amendment Bill and the proposal for the mini-budget will be submitted to the cabinet by the end of this week, as stated by the Finance Advisor, Shaukat Tarin.

The cabinet had first enacted the SBP Amendment Bill reportedly without debate in March. In order to resurrect the $6 billion loan program, the Ministry of Finance gave up a lot of territory to the central bank, but in exchange, it was unable to secure accountability, thereby falling short of its fundamental goals.

Interestingly, the most important goal for any central bank is to maintain price stability through clear inflation targeting but this was not addressed in the SBP Amendment Bill. Pakistan’s desire to keep the door open for borrowing from the central bank was also denied by the IMF which also refused to agree on any serious accountability for the SBP.

The government’s inability to borrow from the central bank has left it at the mercy of commercial banks, which have recently demanded interest rates much higher than the key policy rate.

If Pakistan wants to be considered for the next $1 billion IMF loan tranche, it must approve the bills. The global lender has set preconditions for the resumption of the $6 billion bailout facility, including the levy of around Rs. 360 billion in new taxes and passage of the SBP Amendment Bill.

However, it appears that the administration will miss the IMF board meeting on 12 January, as getting parliament’s approval for both bills by the end of the month now appears to be highly improbable.

It is expected that the government will present a mini-budget during the parliament’s opening winter session (today), including fiscal adjustments and budget cuts totaling roughly Rs. 600 billion as part of an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and opposition parties promise to fight the move vehemently.

Source: Pro Pakistani

In a bid to restore the confidence of taxpayers in the tax system and to ensure transparency and quick processing of the consignments, the office of the Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) has been consistently taking measures to eliminate maladministration and corruption in the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

An own motion (OM) investigation was initiated by Federal Tax Ombudsman through the exercise of the jurisdiction conferred under Section 9(1) of the Federal Tax Ombudsman Ordinance, 2000 (FTO Ordinance). The OM initiative was based on media reports that the facility of unaccompanied baggage (UAB) was being misused through clearance of goods in commercial quantity and of items that were non-bonafide baggage.

According to the Baggage Rules, 2006, related to UAB of passengers arriving in the country, baggage is defined as “personal wearing apparel and other personal, professional and household effects of a passenger”.

Rule 3 of the Baggage Rules specifies allowances for Pakistani nationals who do not avail transfer of residence and are entitled to import duty-free items, if the stay is more than seven days or in case of the first visit in a year. Rule 4 specifies allowances for availing transfer of residence facility in respect of passengers who had stayed abroad for more than two years.

It was observed that the existing system of clearance of baggage in the WeBOC computerized system was not being implemented in the majority of the baggage consignments which in turn provides an open opportunity of abuse through clearance of non-bonafide baggage in violation of legal provisions.

During the investigation, data furnished by the department was examined and it transpired that the Directorate of Reforms & Automation, Karachi had deployed the module in the WeBOC system for processing of baggage declarations (BDs) and Collectorates across the country are mostly using the module for processing of unaccompanied baggage except for the Collectorate of Preventive/Enforcement, Karachi which is the station where highest number totaling 10013 BDs were filed during the period from January 1, 2021, to October 25, 2021.

However, it was observed that the Collectorate of Enforcement used the said module on a test and trial basis in September 2021 i.e. after cognizance taken by FTO Office and due to delay and reluctance in the usage of BD module by the said Collectorate, a major chunk of BDs filed in the country were not processed through WeBOC module.

Being a glaring case of maladministration, Federal Tax Ombudsman has directed the FBR to ensure the processing of all Baggage consignments through the automated module in WEBOC without any exception. This will not only eradicate any chance of misuse of the subject facility but will also result in prompt processing of the bonafide baggage of the incoming passengers at various airports across the country.

Source: Pro Pakistani

For the first time in the country’s bleak startup history, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has awarded a Non-Banking Finance License to the highly popular Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) startup QisstPay.

According to the company’s co-founder and CEO, Jordan Olivas, this license is a huge first for the business. With it, QisstPay is now Pakistan’s first and only legally operational BNPL and is eligible to expand into other areas such as vehicle financing, home financing, microfinancing, leasing in the future.

It is a significant step by the SECP at a time when the BNPL is facing regulatory scrutiny around the world, particularly in the United States and the European Union.

On account of being the first player of a BNPL service in the field, QisstPay’s latest challenge is getting both consumers and merchants on the same page by convincing them to use this new product. By focusing solely on a complicated and unusual market like Pakistan’s, CEO Olivas is positive that this new change promises big rewards for QisstPay in 2022.

As the name suggests, QisstPay is the fastest-growing installment payment service for emerging markets, and provides a payment solution to online buyers, merchants, and business partners while increasing their consumer base. It is Pakistan’s first BNPL platform, and is a promising game-changer in the world of e-commerce and fintech.

QisstPay allows its clients to avail of interest-free installments and promotes 60 percent higher traffic and thereby, higher-order rates leading to an increase in sales. By allowing BNPL services, QisstPay focuses on merchant and customer acquisition by stimulating bigger growths instead of transactional volume.

Source: Pro Pakistani