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PAKISTAN’S FIRST INDEPTh NEwSPAPER ON CUSTOMS
Vol 2 Issue No. 11
weekly
Karachi, Tue April 01 - Mon April 07, 2014
Regd. No, MC-1381
Price Rs. 50.00
ISSUINg REFUNDS
FBR mustdirecttheChief Commissionerstoissueduerefunds inaccordancewithlawandreport compliancewithin30days,says FTO AbdurRaufChaudhry. | SEE PAgE 02 | RECONSIDERINg INCENTIVES
PrimeMinister’s TaxIncentive Schemehasfailedtoproduce desiredeffectsasaresultofwhich formationoftougherlawsare underconsideration,saysAsad. | SEE PAgE 03 | TACKLINg ILLICIT TRADE
Smuggling of Iranian diesel is a major phenomenon and huge investments are being made into this business, says Collector Huda. | SEE PAgE 05 | CARTOONS SPECIAL
| SEE PAgE 11 |
ISLAMABAD
CUSTOMS TODAY REPORT www.customstoday.com
n a bid to appease the mumbling lawmakers, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar told the National Assembly that recent $1.5 billion ‘gift’ received from a friendly country was without conditions that could involve Pakistan in a proxy war in any Arab country like Syria. He informed the House that tax exemptions of Rs320 billion were provided to the business class over the past seven months. Addressing NA session, he called his categorical statement on behalf of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that Pakistan would not send troops or weapons to the area. Initially, Dar explained the arrival of $1.5 billion as a “totally friendly gift”
I
deposited in the State Bank of Pakistan in two instalments — $750 million on Feb 19 and the remainder on March 7 – from donors who he said did not want to be identified and its impact on the national economy like an appreciation of the rupee against the US dollar. But after three opposition parties and a government ally voiced fears about the possibility of hidden strings attached to the amount — which he said carried no interest and was not to be repaid — that the minister, as “a privy to this grant”, offered to make a statement on behalf of the Prime Minister, then visiting abroad, that there were “no conditions” attached and that neither Pakistani troops nor ammunitions would be sent out. In a written reply to a question submitted by PTI’s Lal Chand, Dar told the House that from July 2013 to February 2014, the government waived Rs320.8bn in duties and taxes. The
From July 2013 to February 2014, the govt waived Rs320.8b in duties and taxes
minister said, “These exemptions are on account of all SROs issued from time to time, which are operational to-date and only those issued under the current financial year”. To another question put by PPP’s Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho about foreign loans received by the present government from the IMF, World Bank and Asian Development Bank, Ishaq Dar said an amount of $203.2 million was received from the WB during the first six months of the current financial year and it was being spent on bank-driven projects. The minister also informed the lawmakers that the government was working on a plan to set up about 500 telecentres across the country to provide information technology services in far-flung areas with an initial investment of about Rs10.5 billion collected through Universal Services Fund (USF).