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Govt may slap flood levy ranging from 1-3% on all imports

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  • Govt also considering windfall tax on lofty profits in banking sector.
  • Drops proposal to jack up CVT on luxury, imported vehicles.
  • Govt to grant exemption on import of essential food items.

ISLAMABAD: The government may impose a flood levy ranging from 1-3% on all imports through a presidential ordinance keeping in consideration a waiver to basic food items and raw medicine material imports, The News reported Wednesday.

The government is also considering a windfall tax on lofty profits in the banking sector. The profit earned by the banks in the form of alleged currency manipulation is being bifurcated by the taxation authorities with normal income to impose the additional tax.

Another proposal to jack up the capital value tax (CVT) on luxury and imported vehicles has been dropped by the government. 

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also opposed the amnesty scheme for the regularisation of vehicles registered in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (PATA) since 2018, when these districts merged into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Official sources confirmed to The News that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) had reported lofty profits of Rs100 billion by commercial banks in the first three quarters (Jan–Sept) of the current calendar year 2022, compared to Rs37 billion in the same period of the last year 2021. 

The SBP data showed that the banks had earned Rs63 billion in extra profits. So a windfall tax is under consideration to get the due share for the national exchequer.

Citing the example of energy companies that earned lofty profits in the aftermath of the Russia and Ukraine war, the Western world slapped a windfall tax and the same happened in the case of the banking sector in Pakistan.

“We are also considering the windfall tax cautiously,” said one official, who added that the litigation on the super tax in the superior judiciary was underway, so the government wanted to move ahead in a manner that it might not be struck down by the courts.

“There is also a need to ascertain the exact level of windfall profits after excluding the normal increase in profits of banks,” said the official, who added that it would be hard to declare the whole extra profit of Rs63 billion as part of the windfall profit of banks.

There is a need to calculate the windfall profits of banks carefully, so it is assumed that the commercial banks had earned an extra profit in the range of Rs50 billion, and this amount should be taxed as windfall tax.

There are different rates under consideration, and the government will finalise it if this proposal gets approval from all relevant forums in the coming few days. 

The government is likely to issue an ordinance to that effect to appease the IMF and pave the way for a staff-level agreement to be reached within the next month.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar is expected to meet the IMF delegation on the sidelines of a donors’ conference, which will be held in Geneva on January 9, 2023, to rally financial support for the flood-affected areas in Pakistan.

On the proposed flood levy, the sources said that the government would grant an exemption on the import of onions, tomatoes and other essential food items, as well as medicines and their raw materials, but a levy in the range of 1-3% will be slapped on all other imported items. 

This revenue measure will fetch Rs60 billion in the remaining six months of the current fiscal year.

The Federal Board of Revenue of Pakistan has been currently busy identifying those sectors that had earned lofty profits in the last fiscal year like banking and beverage. 

It is yet to be seen how the government decides to take action to fetch the additional tax and non-tax revenues to satisfy the IMF and revive the stalled programme.

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In January 2025, RDA inflows reach 9.564 billion USD.

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Remittances under the Roshan Digital Account (RDA) increased from US $9.342 billion at the end of 2024 to US $9.564 billion by the end of January 2025.

The most recent data issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) revealed that remittance inflows in January totaled US$222 million, compared to US$203 million in December and US$186 million in November 2024.

Millions of Non-Resident Pakistanis (NRPs), including those who own a Non-Resident Pakistan Origin Card (POC), desire to engage in banking, payment, and investing activities in Pakistan using these accounts, which offer cutting-edge banking options.

Nearly 778,697 accounts were registered under the scheme by the end of January 2025, according to the data.

By the end of January, foreign-born Pakistanis had contributed US $59 million to Roshan Equity Investment, US $479 million to Naya Pakistan Certificates, and US $799 to Naya Pakistan Islamic Certificates.

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FBR lowers Karachi’s built-up structure property valuation rates

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A year-by-year breakdown of the depreciation value of residential and commercial built-up properties is included in the updated property valuation rates for Karachi that the FBR has announced.

The notification said that built-up structural values on residential property will be gradually reduced.

A residential home’s built-up structure, which is five to ten years old, will lose five percent of its worth.

In a similar vein, constructions between the ages of 10 and 15 will lose 7.5% of their value, while those between the ages of 15 and 25 would lose 10%. Built-up structures that are more than 25 years old will be valued similarly to an open plot.

Furthermore, age will also be used to lower the valuation of built-up properties, such as apartments and flats.

Structures that are five to ten years old will depreciate by ten percent, while those that are ten to twenty years old will depreciate by twenty percent. A 30% depreciation will be applied to properties that are 20 to 30 years old, while a 50% reduction will be applied to those that are above 30 years old.

In terms of commercial built-up properties, buildings that are 10 to 15 years old will lose 5% of their value, while those that are 15 to 25 years old will lose 8%. The value of properties that are more than 25 years old will drop by 10%.

In contrast, there would be a 15% boost in the value of commercial properties in the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) that face any Khayaban.

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Remittances Increase 25.2% in January 2025: $3.0 Billion Inflow

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Remittances from Pakistani workers totalled US$3.0 billion in January 2025, representing a 25.2% increase from the previous year.

The cumulative remittances for July through January of FY25 were 20.8 billion dollars, up 31.7 percent from 15.8 billion dollars during the same period in FY24.

In January 2025, the United States of America contributed 298.5 million dollars, the United Kingdom contributed 443.6 million dollars, the United Arab Emirates contributed 621.7 million dollars, and Saudi Arabia contributed 728.3 million dollars.

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