The government borrowed a record amount from banks at record high prices, which ate up 76 per cent of the tax revenue during the first nine months of the current fiscal year. The latest data released by the State Bank on Tuesday reveals that the present government has been borrowing heavily from banks despite the fact the cost of money is at its peak. The SBP reported that the government bor
The Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) decision to block the mobile phone SIMs of non-filers has generated a new controversy as the telecom regulator is reluctant to comply with the directives amid pressure from the telcos. The FBR has forwarded a list of 506,671 individuals to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) for blocking their mobile phone SIMs as they did not file their returns f
While local refineries and oil marketing companies complain about falling capacity utilisation and sales, around 10 million litres of Iranian petrol and diesel are smuggled into Pakistan every day through land and sea routes, causing a more than Rs227 billion annual revenue loss. It was revealed in a joint report by intelligence agencies to the Petroleum Division. Sources said the report entail
After an unsuccessful voluntary registration push for the Tajir Dost Scheme (TDS), the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has proposed increasing withholding tax on supplies to non-filer wholesalers and traders, official sources told Dawn on Wednesday. The FBR announced a sweeping registration drive under the TDS, offering incentives to traders and wholesalers to register voluntarily into the forma
Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday came under heavy selling pressure as the KSE-100 index slumped nearly 1,050 points amid uncertainty surrounding the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)’s policy rate announcement ahead of new loan talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Although trading began on a positive note, reflecting the sharp gains recorded in the previous session, market sentim