News

Stocks’ retreat continues for third session

The uncertain economic outlook amid mounting political tensions kept the equity investors nervous. As a result, the benchmark KSE 100 index suffered losses for the third straight session on Monday. The harsh International Monetary Fund conditions attached to the $7 billion bailout and a war-like situation in the Middle East also took their toll as foreign investors continued offloading their ho

Punitive tax plan

THE government is desperate to increase its abysmally low tax collection to meet the stringent revenue conditions of the new $7bn funding programme approved by the IMF recently. In order to meet the tax target, the FBR has worked out a new compliance and enforcement plan, which primarily relies on punitive actions against tax evaders and cheaters. The authorities hope that it will compel existi

Petroleum sales rise in September

The country’s overall oil sales recorded a month-on-month increase of 5 per cent and 20pc year-on-year to 1.27 million tonnes in September. According to Arif Habib Ltd (AHL), petrol sales rose 2pc to 0.63m tonnes in September from 0.62m tonnes in August while sales jumped 22pc year-on-year. An 8pc rise was recorded in high-speed diesel (HSD) to 0.49m tonnes from 0.46m tonnes in August. Howev

Banks trapped in surplus liquidity

Banks find themselves trapped in liquidity surplus these days, forcing them to start lending at throwaway rates as low as three per cent per annum to avoid paying tax on Advance-to-Deposit Ratio (ADR) applicable at the end of calendar year 2024. Banking has completely changed in Pakistan as both the government and the banks are flush with liquidity. For years the government has been the largest

Deadline to file returns extended to Oct 14

In a late-night decision, the government has extended until Oct 14 the deadline for filing income tax ret­urns for the tax year 2024. The move will provide an opportunity to people, who had not filed their tax returns by the Sept 30 deadline, to fulfil the requirement. Although the income tax ordinance specifies Sept 30 as the deadline for submitting returns, the government has regularly ext