Blaze News - Pakistan

The federal government has directed all ministries and divisions to return any unutilised funds from the current fiscal year by April 30, 2025. The decision has been taken as part of the preparation process for the upcoming federal budget for the fiscal year 2025–26. According to sources in the Ministry of Finance, clear instructions have been issued to all Principal Accounting Officers (PAOs) across ministries and divisions, setting the April 30 deadline to ensure the recovery of anticipated surplus funds from the fiscal year 2024–25. Officials stated that the move follows guidelines issued by the Public Accounts Committee. The finance ministry stressed that the timely return of these funds is essential not only for finalising the revised estimates for the current fiscal year but also for strengthening the projections for the upcoming federal budget. The returned funds are expected to include savings from civil government expenditures, subsidies, and development allocations. As per mi...

A recent audit report by the Auditor General of Pakistan has uncovered significant financial irregularities at Islamabad Club, amounting to Rs750 million. The audit revealed that the club, located in the federal capital, awarded bonuses to employees despite facing substantial financial losses. According to the audit report, Islamabad Club incurred a loss of Rs199.2 million during the fiscal year 2022-23. Despite this financial setback, the club granted bonuses totaling Rs100 million to its employees. This decision has raised questions about financial management and accountability within the club. The Auditor General's report highlighted several areas of concern: The report noted that Rs300 million was spent on in-house schemes at Islamabad Club without proper estimates or measurements, violating financial regulations. Rs14.4 million was spent on building a lake alongside the cricket ground, and Rs16.1 million was used for installing floodlights at the cricket ground. Both projects ...

The country’s telecom companies have assured the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) that they would block the mobile phone SIMs of over half a million non-filers but sought a period of one to 1.5 weeks for this carrying out this task. FBR Chairman Malik Amjed Zubair Tiwana held meetings with the officials of the telecom companies and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) for three consecutive days in which the implementation of the Income Tax General Order (ITGO) issued by the board to disable the mobile phone SIMs of 506,671 individuals, who had failed to file their returns for the year 2023, was discussed. Sources said on the first day of the meeting, the telecom companies opposed the move to block mobile SIMs. Read more: Telecoms protest SIMs blocking They pointed out that the law to block the SIMs of non-filers had been in place for two years, but not been implemented so far. The telecom companies contended that it was unfair to implement it so strictly after two years. Beside...

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has proposed increasing the tax rate on both salaried and non-salaried classes while reducing the number of tax slabs from seven to four. If this proposal is implemented, the tax burden on both salaried and non-salaried classes will increase. Additionally, it is estimated that an additional revenue of Rs4 trillion will be obtained. Sources suggest that the government has been recommended to abolish tax relief on partnerships between pensioners and private entrepreneurs. Read also: Govt says IMF conditions for $1.2b tranche met Full implementation of the recommendations regarding personal income tax could generate additional revenue of 0.5% of the GDP, exceeding Rs4 trillion annually. During the first eight months of the current fiscal year between July 2023 to February 2024, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has achieved a revenue of Rs215 billion from the salaried class. from Latest News, Breaking News & Top News Stories | The Express T...

Caretaker Federal Minister of Finance, Dr Shamshad Akhtar, has proposed the listing of government debt securities on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as a means to foster the credit market’s growth. During the inauguration of the Central Gateway Portal (CGP), the caretaker finance minister, emphasised the pivotal role that the securities market could play in developing the country’s debt market through this initiative. Akhtar explained that listing government debt securities on PSX would not only facilitate retail participation but also enhance transparency in the process of issuing securities through public auctions. She underscored that this move would be instrumental in promoting the loan market in Pakistan. She urged regulatory bodies like Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), PSX, and other stakeholders to collaborate closely for the effective implementation of these reforms. Highlighting the challenge of low liquidity in capital markets due to a limited number o...