Category: Information Technology

KP’s Culture and Tourism Authority will open 8 new tourist zones to promote tourism in the northern province. Reports suggest the sites were approved by KP Chief Minister (CM) Mahmood Khan.

Sources close to KP’s Chief Minister have stated that the preliminary survey of the mandated tourist sites has also been completed.

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The KP Integrated Tourism Development (KITE) project has been given charge for the development in a joint effort with the World Bank. The chosen locations, termed Eco-Friendly Tourism Zones, include the beautiful Kalash Valley in lower Chitral, Shahi and Nin Shahi in lower Dir, Jarogudra in Swat, Marggoz Dak Sar in Buner, Elm and Mahabanrr in Buner, and Sereen and Munawar Valley in Mansehra.

The Manager Director for KP Culture and Tourism Authority (KP-CTA), Kamran Afridi, reportedly stated that besides boosting tourism in general, the government opted to balance out the recurring load on frequently visited tourist destinations. ‘The zone will also provide employment opportunities to locals,’ he further stated.

Afridi later revealed that international level consultancy firms will present complete reports on selected zones by June-21. The government will advertise tourism projects from there on out.

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According to reports, the new tourist zones will be equipped with a state-of-the-art communication system, rigorous investment plans, hotels, rest houses, a primitive golf course, some chairlifts, and parks.

Before looping in the International Tourism Expo to attract foreign tourists and investments, the tourist zones will be presented to the provincial government after the master plans are finalized.
Each tourist zone will provide new opportunities for locals, and boost the fledgling employment rate.

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International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the nominations for the ICC awards of the decade and it has caused some controversy regarding the preferential treatment of Indian players and to some extent players of other nationalities while snubbing deserving candidates from Pakistan.

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A lot of players from Pakistan have been ignored despite exceptional performances throughout the decade. Players such as Mohammad Hafeez, Saeed Ajmal, Shoaib Malik, and Babar Azam had a strong case to be nominated in numerous categories but were overlooked.

Saeed Ajmal had a stellar decade despite his early retirement and illegal bowling action incidents. He recorded 160 wickets in Tests, 157 wickets in ODIs, and 66 wickets in T20Is this decade. India’s Ravichandran Ashwin, who was nominated in one of the categories, picked up 362 wickets in Tests, 150 wickets in ODIs, and 52 wickets in T20Is. Despite having a better record than Ashwin in two formats, Ajmal was not nominated for ICC Men’s Player of the Decade.

Similarly, Mohammad Hafeez was overlooked from both the ICC Men’s Player of the Decade and ICC Men’s T20I Player of the Decade nominations. Hafeez scored 2,975 runs and took 49 wickets in Tests, 5,740 runs and 101 wickets in ODIs, and 1,726 runs and 47 wickets in T20Is.

In comparison, Steve Smith and Joe Root were excellent in Tests and ODIs only, both recording less than 900 runs in T20Is.

Sangakkara was also nominated for ICC Men’s Player of the Decade despite only performing in two formats and retired in 2015.

Babar Azam, on the other hand, is just 433 runs short of reaching the ten highest run-scorers in T20Is, despite only playing 44 matches. He also has the highest average in the world but he was also overlooked.

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Chris Gayle was ranked out of the top 40 in the highest run-scorers in this decade but was nominated in the category. His fellow teammate, Marlon Samuels, who played two match-winning knocks for West Indies leading them to two World T20 titles, was overlooked as well.

Tim Southee of New Zealand, who took 255 wickets in Tests, 156 wickets in ODIs, and 64 wickets in T20Is, finishing in the top 10 wicket-takers in each format, was also overlooked by ICC.

These players can find themselves hard done by despite performing better than many of the players nominated for the awards.

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The Pakistani automotive industry is currently at an interesting spot, having seen more newcomers this year than it has in a long time. Experts foresee a sixty percent rise in the sales of cars in the financial year (FY) 2021, which includes the sales of the new entrants.

According to a senior research analyst at Topline Securities Limited, Syed Fawad Basir, the “faster than expected economic recovery” and “low interest rates” shall be the two key drivers of the increase in sales of vehicles across the country.

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“After taking into account the higher-than-expected unit sales in the first four months (July-Oct) of FY21 and an upward revision in margin assumptions, we are revising our earnings forecasts for the Pakistani automobiles universe for the next two years by up to fifty-three percent,” Basir said.

“We are raising our earlier FY 21 and FY 22 auto car and light commercial vehicle sales assumptions by nineteen percent (to 201,000 units) and five percent (to 228,000 units), respectively,” he added.

Details shared by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reveal that automobile loans increased from Rs. 251 billion in March 2020 to Rs. 270 billion in October, depicting an increase of eight percent. However, as reported by Basir, the sales will still be forty percent less than the highest level Pakistan has ever reached in FY18 when auto sales were at 329,000 units.

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Basir further stated that Toyota Indus Motor Company Limited (IMC) is likely to experience a four to fifteen percent growth in earnings during FY21-FY22, largely due to the success of the new Yaris.

He added that Honda Atlas Cars (HCAR) will probably see an increase of three to fifty-three percent in earnings, mainly due to a higher than expected result in the 1st half of FY 2020-21, coupled with an upward revision of the combined industry estimates.

Basir also forecasted that the sales of Pak Suzuki Motor Company Limited (PSMC) will rise at a steady pace owing to the increased operational costs that came with the introduction of new models when the economy was struggling.

The auto industry is in for a major paradigm shift as there are numerous new entrants waiting for the opportunity to grab the lion’s share in the car market. Although it is too early to make any assumptions, it is safe to say that 2021 will be a very interesting year for the auto industry.

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Taking a major step to bring transparency in the appeal system, the business community and individuals will now electronically file appeals with the Commissioner Inland Revenue (Appeals) against the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) through ‘Iris web portal’ from January 1, 2021.

The FBR has notified SRO.1612(I)/2020 on Thursday for draft amendments in the Income Tax Ordinance 2001.

When asked about the rationale behind introducing an electronic appeal filing system, FBR officials informed ProPakistani that the Commissioner Inland Revenue (Appeals) is the first stage of appeal available to the taxpayers for filing appeals against the assessments made by the FBR or refunds related issues.

“There are serious concerns of the taxpayers while filing appeals with the forum of Commissioner Appeals. The new system of filing appeals through the electronic system will have a very positive impact on the whole appeal system of the taxpayers,” added the officials.

The electronic appeal filing system will end direct interaction between the aggrieved taxpayers and Commissioner Appeals. The new system will maintain electronic records of all Appeals orders. It will bring transparency in the process of appeals filed by the taxpayers against the FBR, added the officials.

They further said that the new system is in line with the FBR’s policy of automation and electronic integration of data. This will eliminate physical interaction between the taxpayers and tax adjudicators.

“The electronic maintenance of records of appeals will ensure exact trends of appeals orders and the nature of decisions issued by the Commissioner Appeals,” said the officials.

Most importantly the speedy disposal of cases and hearing of appeals will be possible through the new electronic appeal filing system. This will also end the manual maintenance of records at the level of Commissioner Appeals averting any possibility of loss of documents or tampering of records, officials added.

For the first time, the Commissioner Appeals will be able to hear cases without delays during the Covid situation.

The FBR stated that the appeal shall also be electronically transmitted to the respondent through Iris. Where an appeal is not filed electronically in the manner specified, an electronic notice shall be issued within three days requiring the appellant or his authorized representative to bring the appeal in conformity with the rules, within the time limitation.

The Commissioner (Appeals) shall issue notices electronically to both the parties to the appeal informing them about the date and place of hearing of appeal or the stay application as the case may be.

The Commissioner Inland Revenue (Appeals) shall issue notices electronically to both parties for providing them a reasonable opportunity to present their stance in case of an increase in the amount of any assessment order or decrease in the amount of any refund.

He shall make sure that orders/decisions received from the Tribunal or Higher Courts and all other documents which have been received manually from quarters other than the appellant are immediately uploaded in Iris in a soft form with the relevant case on web portal.

The order passed electronically on the Iris web portal shall not require any seal or signature of the Commissioner (Appeals). The date of the order shall be the date as mentioned on the order generated by the system.

No case pertaining to the Tax Year 2014 onwards, shall be filed manually from January 1, 2021, and the cases already filed manually before the said date shall be proceeded as per the SRO 279(1)/2018. All such cases shall be finalized as per law but not later than June 30, 2021.

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Launched at the ‘Accelerating a Sustainable Digital Economy’ summit held this week by SAMENA Council, a new report from Huawei and Arthur D. Little focusses on recommended policy actions for Middle East countries to realize their digital visions for a sustained economic recovery from the pandemic and enhanced resilience.

The new study focuses specifically on the Middle East and builds on an earlier collaborative report by Huawei and Arthur D. Little this summer titled “Think Digital. Think Archetype. Your Digital economy model.”

Pakistan is currently defined as an “ICT Novice” archetype, owing to the low adoption of ICT products and services and limited ICT infrastructure. That said, the report shows that with the right policies, it can leverage its low-cost base and large workforce to become a service and software powerhouse.

Arthur D. Little suggests this can be achieved by uplifting the supply and demand sides of the digital economy in tandem, improving digital infrastructure, access, and capabilities, while fostering a strong ecosystem around clusters of strategic industries such as software and entertainment. In all, the consultancy group has estimated gains in excess of US$1.9 billion and thousands of high-quality jobs can be created.

The digital economy is estimated to account for 4.5 to 15.5 percent of world GDP today, depending on the definition. In its broadest definition, this equates to US$11.5 trillion and is growing at around 3x the rate of overall GDP.

In the Middle East, Arthur D. Little estimates the digital economy’s contribution to GDP ranges from 6.4 percent in Saudi Arabia, 4.3 percent in UAE, 2.1 percent in Oman, and 1 percent in Pakistan, compared to 9 percent in the USA and 7.7 percent in the UK. This illustrates the scale of the digital gap to be unlocked in the region if the correct policies are implemented.

Accelerating digitalization will boost industrial growth and productivity, improve societal well-being, and benefit consumers via cost and time savings. “Successful digital economies require a whole range of infrastructure and capabilities, but countries often have scarce resources and finite funds. Choosing and prioritizing focus areas is therefore key,” said Rajesh Duneja, Partner at Arthur D. Little.

“As the digital economy becomes a key driving force behind economic development in the Middle East, we must continue to measure the true impact of its development, and the best practices that are helping countries to succeed today. At Huawei, working collectively with global institutions and think tanks in the areas of theory and research are incredibly important to achieving this end,” noted a Huawei executive.

The report details the gaps in the digital economy holding back achievement of their respective digital visions, and the recommendations to lead to value-creating outcomes.

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Foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank have continued to see consistent inflows which recorded an increase of $484 million or 3.74% during the week ending on November 20.

According to the State Bank of Pakistan, overall liquid foreign currency reserves held by the country surged to a quite comfortable position of $20.5 billion.

SBP’s reserves saw an increase of $484 million to $13.415 billion as compared to $12.931 billion due to official inflows from the Government of Pakistan on the account of loans.

Also, the foreign exchange reserves maintained in the account of commercial banks stood at $7.137 billion by the end of November-20.

Foreign exchange inflows continued to maintain a positive trend in the last few weeks. The government not only received loans from various agencies but inflows of foreign exchange also came from overseas Pakistan through Roshan Digital Account wherein handsome value of investments were received from expatriate Pakistanis.

The consistent upsurge of foreign exchange level also strengthened the value of the Rupee against the Dollar.

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The government will take some key policy measures to control the under-valuation of immovable properties including the signing of agreements between the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and provincial authorities on uniform immovable property valuation tables.

Senior FBR officials, familiar with the matter told ProPakistani that two key policy measures have been agreed by the federal government to check under-valuation of immovable properties during 2020-21.

The first measure is to sign MoUs between the federation and all provinces on the online data-sharing pertaining to the immovable property. The second measure is to ink agreements between the FBR and the provincial governments on enhanced immovable property valuation tables.

FBR officials stated that the FBR is in the process of a consultative process with the provincial revenue authorities for the signing of the agreements on the upward revised valuation tables of immovable properties.

Both measures are expected to be implemented during the current fiscal year.

Sources further added that the provincial governments are also required to issue notifications for adopting the Federal Board of Revenue’s valuation tables applicable to Urban Immovable Property Taxes (UIPTs) to raise the assessment values of immovable properties by up to 85 percent of the actual market values. The upward revision in the valuation tables was the responsibility of the provincial Excise and Taxation Departments and the provincial Finance Departments.

According to the sources, nationally the collection of UIPTs falls significantly short of its actual potential. The current collection is only a fraction of the total urban services provided by the various provincial governments.

The potential collection is undermined by the outdated property valuation tables and outdated annual rental value tables. There is, therefore, a need to update the valuation table to bring them in line with true market values to allow the government to improve their provincial revenue yields.

Under the timelines, it is expected that the NFC Coordination Committee approve a policy for how to address the UIPT through the NFC to determine a linkage of annual rental value with the FBR updated property valuation tables.

The provincial governments will also undertake rapid surveys and develop updated annual rental value (ARV) valuation tables in line with 85 percent of the market value by December 2020.

Sources further stated that the government will seek feedback from stakeholders to finalize the valuation table by January 2021.

It is expected that the governments of the Punjab, Sindh, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan will announce their updated UIPT valuation tables in line with the FBR tables or with 85 percent of the existing market value by end-April 2021, the sources added.

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The Standing Committee on Government Assurances has issued directions that Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) should ensure the payment of compensation to the affectees of the plane crash in Karachi.

It was also decided in the meeting of the standing committee that the payment of honoraria should be made to the employees of PIAC, PTVC, and Radio Pakistan otherwise action would be taken against the culprits.

The meeting was presided over by its Chairman and Chief Whip of PTI, Malik Muhammad Amir Dogar.

The Standing Committee was informed that in the incident of the plane crash in Karachi, there were 27 claims by the general public for damage of their movable properties, and four cheques are available for disbursement.

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In response to a question made by the members of the Standing Committee, the PIA authorities informed that they paid Rs. 1 million to each of the families of the deceased persons. Moreover, two families and two people alive have received their compensation, whereas the rest of the people have not yet submitted their documents.

As soon as the receiving of the documents, the affected would be paid the compensation without any delay. The Standing Committee directed that compensation be paid to all concerned, forthwith.

The Standing Committee was informed that PIAC, PTV, and Radio Pakistan had not paid honoraria to those employees who served in the Parliament House during the Budget Sessions 2018-19 and 2019-20. The Standing Committee showed great displeasure on the non-payment of the honoraria to those employees.

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Therefore, the Standing Committee directed that honoraria be paid to all concerned employees without further delay otherwise, strict action shall be taken against the concerned administrations.

The meeting was presided over by the Chairman, Standing Committee of National Assembly on Government Assurances, Malik Muhammad Amir Dogar, and attended by Members National Assembly Mujahid Ali, Sheikh Rashid Shafiq, Shagufta Jumani, Usman Ibrahim, Syed Javed Hasnain, Muhammad Afzal Khokhar, Syed Javed Ali Shah Jillani, Syed Ghulam Mustafa Shah, Saira Bano, Sher Akbar Khan, Syed Agha Rafiullah, Engr. Sabir Hussain Kaim Khani, and Ali Muhammad Khan. Minister for Parliamentary Affairs was also present in the meeting. Secretary, Aviation Division, and senior civil officers also attended the meeting.

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A meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE) was held under the chairmanship of Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Asad Umar.

The Cabinet Committee on Energy discussed the summary of the Petroleum Division on natural gas load management during winter 2020-21. While presenting the natural gas demand-supply situation for the winters, the committee was informed that the domestic and export-oriented industrial sectors will face no disruption during the winters.

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The CCoE directed the ministry to ensure prioritizing the residential and industrial demand during winter months, without any curtailment of the load.

Petroleum Division presented the mitigation measures for arranging additional gas for the season. Furthermore, an optimum utilization plan for RLNG was also presented.

The CCoE also directed the Petroleum Division to present an energy efficiency program for the domestic natural gas appliances. The CCoE also directed the Petroleum Division to check gas theft through the illegal use of compressors in the residential and commercial sectors.

The Committee also approved a proposal of Power Division for the ratification of the MOUs signed with the Independent Power Producers (IPPS). Power Division would continue to pursue agreements, based on these MoUs, through the committee constituted for this purpose.

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The meeting was attended by Minister for Energy, Omar Ayub Khan, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Shibli Faraz, Federal Minister for Railways, Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad, SAPM on Petroleum, Nadeem Babar, Advisor of the Prime Minister on Commerce, Textile and Investment, Abdul Razak Dawood, and officials from various divisions.

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The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has extended the scope of its cartel investigation in the cement industry to the South Region, where the anti-trust watchdog is probing collusion among the cement manufacturers regarding the prices, production, and supply of cement in Sindh province.

The CCP started a cartel investigation in the cement industry in May 2020 and carried out a search and inspection of the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) offices in Lahore on 24 September.

It was initially investigating collusion in the cement sector in the Northern Region. However, from the impounded records, including Whatsapp messages and emails, CCP found a clue regarding suspected collusive practices in the Southern Region as well. Therefore, on 18 November, the CCP, while exercising its powers under Section 34 of the Competition Act 2010, carried out a search and inspection of the offices of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) located in Karachi.

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Two different teams entered and searched the offices of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of APCMA and impounded the relevant record. Sources said that no significant resistance was recorded during the raids.

The country’s cement industry operates in two regions, Northern and Southern. The Northern Region includes Islamabad, Punjab, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, whereas the Southern Region includes interior Sindh and Karachi. The cement association operates at the national level and represents all the major cement companies.

The CCP suspects that APCMA collectively makes commercially sensitive decisions such as price, production, supply, and territorial allocation, which is a violation of the competition law. However, the association denies the charges saying that the industry operates on a competitive basis.

For more or less similar charges, the CCP had penalized APCMA and its member companies in 2009 and imposed a collective penalty of more than Rs. 6.3 billion on account of forming a cartel and involvement in prohibited agreements in violation of Section 04 of the Act. In 2012, the Commission again initiated an inquiry against cement companies. However, the inquiry could not be sustained and concluded due to a stay order granted to cement companies by the Lahore High Court. The current inquiry was initiated in 2020.

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The recent inquiry in the cement sector was started based on the information gathered through various media reports and concerns and complaints expressed regarding a concurrent increase in cement prices, particularly during April 2020. The reports indicated that an increase ranging between Rs. 45 – Rs. 55 per cement bag was apparently collectively decided in a meeting of the cement manufacturers held under the umbrella of APCMA.

It is pertinent to mention that factors such as lower demand for cement in the first two quarters of 2020, an almost parallel increase in cement prices, and data collected from Pakistan Bureau Statistics and the cement companies became the basis of CCP’s inquiry and the earlier search.

Sudden rise in prices by the cement manufacturers at a time when there is low demand compared to the installed capacity of the manufacturers, and considering that input fuel cost (coal and oil), transportation, and interest rates have declined raises suspicion of a collective rise in price by cement companies.

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