News

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

Influx of Iranian oil surges after polls

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

FBR to slap 10pc withholding tax on unregistered retailers

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