Tech and Telecom

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan has decided to conduct an inspection of the books of account of the M/s La Ville De Paris Housing Scheme Limited, which is involved in the unauthorized and illegal business of obtaining funds from the general public. Sources told Propakistani that the SECP constituted a two-member team comprising Additional Joint Registrar of Companies and Assistant Registrar to conduct an inspection under Section 221 of the Act, and the powers delegated to me vide S.R.O. No. 575(I)/2018. ALSO READ SECP Issues Guidelines for Issuance of Green Bonds in Pakistan “The inspector will inspect all…

In a bustling metropolis like Lahore, several new real estate projects are launched every year to meet the ever-growing housing demand. For meeting this demand without unnecessary urban sprawl, developers have lately shifted focus to constructing vertical residential complexes. Most of these developments are essentially built on a similar pattern and offer only the essential features. However, the recently launched Zameen Quadrangle — a flagship project of Zameen Developments, which is the development wing of Emerging Markets Property Group (EMPG) — is unlike any project the city has ever seen. The project has reimagined modern living by offering community-centric amenities…

The incumbent government is aiming to double the IT industry in two years by setting up tech zones across Pakistani. These zones will offer tax breaks to investors, Bloomberg reported. Earlier this year in January, the government had transferred 150 acres of land to the Special Technology Zone Authority (STZA) for setting up a special zone for technological advancement in Islamabad. The STZA had been established under the STZA Ordinance 2020. The authority is tasked with setting up Special Technology Zones (STZs) all across the country, with the initial phase to include one STZ each at Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, and…

Law enforcement authorities (LEAs) have arrested the owner of the vehicle that was possibly used to carry out the Johar Town bomb blast on Wednesday. According to reports, the car used in the blast was a black 2010 Toyota Corolla with the registration number LEB-9928 that was being driven on an open letter. ALSO READ Flour Mills Announce 2 Day Nationwide Strike The car was originally stolen from Gujranwala on 29 November 2010 at 9:45 am. Record with the Cantt Police Station, Gujranwala, showed that the first owner of the car, Shakeel, had filed an FIR of vehicle theft. Since…

The sub-committee of the National Assembly Special Committee on Agricultural Products has recommended the withdrawal of General Sales Tax (GST) on agricultural equipment and apparatus. The parliamentary panel met under the chairmanship of Shandana Gulzar Khan on Wednesday to discuss the concerns of the fertilizer manufacturers of the Pakistan Advisory Council, the mismatched input and output GST on urea production, the mismatch of the GST on DAP, NP, SSP (local manufacturing), the allocation of funds for the release of the GST refunds, the payment of the pending subsidy amount since 2018, a briefing on the disbursement of subsidy on fertilizer…

FBR Issues Clarification on FMCG/Flour Mills AgainFederal Board of Revenue (FBR) has once again clarified that the table prescribing tax rates for a minimum tax on turnover basis has been substituted in the Finance Bill-2021 to provide relief to retailers of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) including flour mills and refineries. ALSO READ Flour Mills Announce 2 Day Nationwide Strike “The words, “flour mills” could not be mentioned inadvertently in the table which was an error and had been noted and would be rectified in the amended bill. This would mean that the minimum tax applicable on flour Mills would…

Pakistan Flour Mills Association has announced a two-day strike from tomorrow against proposing a hike in income tax on turnover of flour mills as well as increasing the sales tax on bran. Patron of Rawalpindi-Islamabad Flour Mills Association Tariq Sadiq has said that If our demands were not accepted, we will start a nationwide indefinite strike as per the decision of the Pakistan Flour Mills Association. He said that masses get seventy percent of their nutrition requirements from flour which should not be made expensive. “Bran is consumed by livestock and slapping additional sales tax on it is a wrong…

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) will make it mandatory for any person or firm desirous of operating a customs warehouse to declare a bank statement showing sufficient funds in the bank account to cover the amount of duty/taxes leviable on the purported imports. The FBR has proposed amendments in the Customs Rules 2001 through a notification issued here on Wednesday. Through these amendments, the FBR has specified more conditions for the persons intended to operate customs warehouses. Under the existing rules, the warehouse operator is required to submit documents including a banker’s certificate, directly forwarded by the bank to…

Martin Dow Marker Limited Pakistan (the Company) has been assigned a long-term rating of A+ and a short-term rating of A1 with a stable outlook by PACRA. Martin Dow Marker Limited is a notable name in the pharmaceutical segment of Pakistan operating since 1951. The Company operates under the umbrella of Martin Dow Group, one of the largest locally-owned pharmaceutical Groups. Expressing his views after the announcement, Mr. Javed Ghulam Mohammad, Group Managing Director & CEO of Martin Dow said, “With an uninterrupted legacy of over half a century, Martin Dow Group is benchmarked to deliver quality products that continue…

The book-building phase of Pakistan Aluminium Beverage Cans Ltd. (PABC)’s Initial Public Offer (IPO) has concluded with an oversubscription of 3.3 times, the company informed on Wednesday. The IPO received an overwhelming response from institutional investors and high net worth individuals as the strike price clocked in at Rs. 49/share, 40 percent higher than the floor price of Rs. 35,” country’s only beverage can manufacturer said in a statement. PABC has raised Rs. 4.6 billion in total, making it the second-largest IPO in the Private-Sector. “The response to the book building has been phenomenal,” said Shahid Habib, CEO of Arif…