News

Auto sales stay high this year despite monthly drop

Despite a month-on-month sales drop in November, car sales during 5MFY24 clocked in at 38,534 units, rising 50 per cent from 25,746 units a year ago. Sales of jeeps, vans and pickups, after facing a slight fall in November to 2,191 units from 2,551 in October, swelled by 55pc to 12,259 units in July-November from 7,891 units last year. According to data released by the Pakistan Automotive Ma

FBR launches faceless customs assessment for trade ease

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has established a Central Appraisement Unit (CAU) in Karachi to enhance the quality of assessment and ensure uniformity and transparency in the processing of Goods Declarations (GDs). The CAU is a key component of the customs reforms under Faceless Customs Assessment (FCA), aimed at modernising customs operations to lighten the workload of appraising officers

Discontinuing gas to captive power plants will threaten exports, warns PTEA

The Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA) has strongly condemned the government’s decision to discontinue gas supply to highly efficient captive power plants (CPPs) from Feb 1, 2025. PTEA Patron-in-Chief Khurram Mukhtar called the move a critical threat to the textile industry and a barrier to realising Pakistan’s full export potential, according to the association press release issued

K-Electric’s plea for payment of Rs68bn faces stiff opposition

The K-Electric’s request for Rs68 billion in ‘unrecoverable dues’ from defaulters came under strong opposition from stakeholders for its additional impact on consumers and taxpayers in the shape of budgetary and tariff adjustment. The Karachi-based power utility has filed a write-off claim of Rs68bn, which it says accumulated over seven years since FY2017 based on a tariff determination of 2018

Power companies’ poor performance costs Rs660bn to exchequer

The performance of electricity supply companies declined in 2023-24, resulting in a loss of over Rs660 billion to the national exchequer. This deterioration was attributed to increased inefficiencies, including high losses and low recovery rates. Additionally, most power plants in private and public sectors imposed an even greater, yet unquantifiable, burden on consumers and taxpayers. In it