News

Over 0.5m non-filers’ SIMs to be blocked

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has released a comprehensive list of 506,671 individuals who failed to file their tax returns for 2023. As a penalty, their mobile phone SIMs will be promptly blocked. The decision was issued in an Income Tax General Order (ITGO) no 01 of 2024, which said that the mobile SIMs for these individuals will stay blocked until restored by the FBR or the Commissioner

OGDCL earns Rs171bn

Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd (OGDCL) posted a 7.18 per cent increase in its profit after tax (PAT) to Rs171.104 billion (earnings per share at Rs39.78 ) in the first nine months ending March 31 of 2023-24. In a statement on Wednesday, the company said its net sales revenue was Rs348.164bn. The board announced an interim cash dividend of Rs2 per share or 20pc for the quarter ended March 3

Mandatory expiry dates on cement bags proposed

The Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) has decided to forward the Competition Commission of Pakistan’s (CCP) proposal to revise national cement standards for disclosure of “manufacturing/expiry dates” on cement bags to the PSQCA for deliberation in the Technical Committee. A CCP team, led by Member OFT Saeed Ahmad Nawaz, held a follow-up meeting with Ali Tahir, Additional Secretary (In-c

Govt borrows record Rs5.7tr at high rates

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

Telcos question FBR’s SIM blocking move

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