Ukraine to raise trade tariff G ENEVA —Ukraine has told its trading partners it wants to raise maximum tariffs on hundreds of imported goods, a move that could unleash protectionist forces and may even pose a threat to the $18 trillion global trade system. In a document marked “secret” sent to members of the World Trade Organisation last week and seen by Reuters, Ukraine says it intends to raise the limit on the tariffs it can legally impose on more than 350 goods. Based on figures in the proposal, Kiev’s plan would hit overall imports worth more than $4.6 billion in 2011. The document, which diplomats said they had received on Sept. 14, consists of 85 pages of annexes detailing the items affected. It says Ukraine is prepared “to enter into negotations and consultations” with WTO members for the concessions. There was no response to requests for comment from Ukraine officials in Geneva or Kiev. Ukraine, a relative newcomer to the WTO whose trade deficit widened by more than 50 percent last year to $14 billion, has already threatened to block car imports and said last year it would act to improve its terms at the WTO. The United States said Ukraine’s possible decision would raise “serious concerns”, although WTO officials played down the move, which, though radical, is permissible under the agency’s rules. Some trade experts fear the plan, which would force hundreds of trade deals to be renegotiated, could trigger increasingly protectionist policies worldwide. The four-year-old global financial and economic crisis has so far not led to a rush to protectionism but, under pressure to help their producers weather the storm, governments have pounced on “unfair” moves by their rivals. The United States and Brazil were the latest to trade diplomatic blows. WTO Director General Pascal Lamy, who forecast on Friday that world trade would grow by a mere 2.5 percent this year, has repeatedly warned of the danger of a return to protectionism.— APP
FBR issuing From Page-13 Tax Policy (Direct Taxes), FBR said the tax departments are directing taxpayers to produce hard and soft copies of the statements and issuing notices in case of non-compliance. However, the same have already been filed through e-filing process and also available in the FBR’s database. He said the jurisdiction for monitoring of withholding taxes assigned to the taxation officer should be publicized amongst the taxpayers and their representatives. However, if inadvertently notices were issued by the taxation officer, the matter may be taken up with the commissioner for appropriate action and copy of such letter be marked to the concerned officer. Moreover, he said the orders in the cases where reconciliation was furnished and hearing was also concluded should be passed within 30 days and added that the monitoring of WHT should be conducted for one time for a particular year only and if any taxpayer was found guilty, the monitoring of other years would be allowed. Moreover, he said tax should be deducted at the time of payment and in the cases of large taxpayers; it is more than difficult to reconcile the figures of statement with audited accounts as required under Rule 44(4) of the Income Tax Rules, 2002, due to accounting on accrual basis. In such cases where preparation of reconciliation of withholding taxes required under prescribed rule is difficult; the taxation officer with prior approval of commissioner of income tax and consent of taxpayer may examine the records of withholding taxes at the taxpayer ’s premises, he maintained.
Sindh govt to buy 500 diesel buses STAFF REPORTER KARACHI —The Sindh government has, in principle, decided to bring at least 500 diesel-run buses, instead of 1,000 CNG buses for the metropolis, Business Recorder learnt on good authority on Friday. This plan was changed in view of the CNG shortage, additionally, the move also attempted to reduce the burden on the national exchequer. For the past two weeks, Sindh has been facing twoday closure of CNG stations. Previously, Sindh was facing 24-hour CNG load-shedding every week. Multi-billion-rupee Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Transport Programme was unlikely to materialise any time soon. The Rs2.5 billion project was announced by the federal government in 2006-07. It was delayed be-
cause of the lack of interest on part of the PPP-led coalition government in Sindh government, which is currently facing a political crisis. Under this project, some 500 CNG buses were to be brought on road in Karachi by February 2008, while at least 1,000 buses were to be introduced in the entire province. As many as 600 buses were to run on different inter-city routes, 100 on Karachi-Sukkur, 100 on Karachi-Hyderabad and 50 each on KarachiLarkana, KhairpurBenazirabad and Mirpurkhas routes, sources added. Sources said that the main financier of the project, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), pulled out of the project after indifference of the Sindh government and the political instability in the province. Besides, the Centre also refused to provide its share of Rs700,000 per vehicle, cit-
ing financial crunch, they said. They said that the transport department forwarded two requests to the Centre to provide funding for the project. However, the federal authorities showed reluctance citing financial crisis as the reason because the project would cost Rs5 billion, they informed. The defunct Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) had also completed all groundwork to initiate the project. Furthermore, sources said, the federal government had informed the Sindh government that the project could not be initiated because of shortage of funds and energy crisis. Instead, the government is considering to remove CNG cylinders installed in buses and vans to avoid further gas crisis, the sources said.
Motor dealers irksome over new import parameters STAFF REPORTER KARACHI—Office-bearers of All Pakistan Motor Dealers Association (APMDA) have expressed concern over abrupt changes in practice for allowing depreciation of customs value for import of old and used vehicles. APMDA’s Chairman HM Shahzad in a statement issued here said that a Customs General Order (CGO) had been issued by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) without any consultation with stakeholders to favor local manufacturers of cars.
APMDA, being at the centre for trading of such vehicles, has become secondary stakeholder, protecting interests and rights of overseas Pakistani workers who had planned for import of such vehicles or whose vehicles were in the pipeline when the subject CGO was issued abruptly. It is clear that CGO is neither legally an effective piece of legislation for enhancing customs value to increase duties or curtail exemptions on import of second-hand vehicles nor it is in consonance with the rulings of su-
perior courts nor best international practices, he said. Shahzad requested the FBR to withdraw the CGO and said that it had been issued by ignoring poor overseas Pakistanis to favor powerful lobbies, adding that the use of first registration abroad should be restored and date of entry of vehicle in Pakistan should be used as parameters for assessment. All stakeholders may be taken on board to discuss the issue and arrive at an amiable resolution protecting the rights of all stakeholders.
Ali new Pak Steel Re-Rolling NHA to accord priority Mills Association Chief STAFF REPORTER L AHORE —Ali Ahmad has been elected Chairman of Pakistan Steel Re-Rolling Mills Association while Mian Murad Ashraf Vice Chairman (Lahore Circle) and Ghulam Ali Bhatia Vice Chairman (Karachi Circle) for the year 2012-13. The results of the newly elected office-bearers were, announced at 51st Annual General Meeting of The Pakistan Steel Re-Rolling Mills Association held here at Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Steel industry leaders Hafiz Mohammad Akbar, Mian Mohammad Ashraf and a large number of steel industry businessmen were present on the occasion. The Executive Committee members elected for the year 2012-13 are: Executive Committee (Lahore Circle) Mian Murad Ashraf, Mian Tariq Waheed, Asmat Pervaiz
Malik, Mian Arif Mehmood, Khawaja Javaid Iqbal and Khalid Javaid. Executive Committee Members for Karachi Circle are Mr Ali Ahmad, Ghulam Ali Bhatia, Shahnawaz Istiaq, Iftikhar Ali, Khalid Khan and Irshad Mowjee. Earlier, Pakistan Steel ReRolling Mills Association newly elected Vice Chairman Mian Murad Ashraf invited the attention of the government towards the massive Rs 7000 per ton Sales Tax evasion with the result that honest tax payers of the steel industry are unable to compete with these unscrupulous elements. He said that the Association had a number of times pointed out this evasion to the concerned authorities and so much so the manes of these tax evaders were given to the Chairman FBR and other concerned authorities but it is very unfortunate that no action has so far been taken.
Apple’s iPhone 5: Does it live up to the hype? L ONDON —After weeks of works. speculation about its size, feel and capabilities, the iPhone 5 has finally arrived. Apple introduced its latest smart phone at a special event in San Francisco, almost a year after the death of founder and CEO Steve Jobs. The new phone is taller, thinner and lighter than the iPhone 4S. It has a four-inch display, enhanced picture resolution and a longer battery life. Its processor and graphics are twice as fast as the iPhone 4S, uses iOS 6 and can run on LTE net-
Its price: $199 for 16GB on contract. The phone will be available through Verizon Wireless, AT&T and Sprint. As part of today’s iPhone 5 introduction, Apple slashed the price of the iPhone 4 8GB to zero and the 16GB iPhone 4S to $99. “iPhone 5 and iOS 6 are the the biggest things to happen to the iPhone since the iPhone,” Apple CEO Tim Cook told his audience today. But does the new smartphone live up to the hype?—Newswire
WTO cuts From Page-13 others, he said in the state- grew just 0.3 percent in the second quarter, significantly ment. Recently announced slower than the 1.2 percent measures to reinforce the seen in the previous three euro and boost growth in the months. Lamy, speaking in United States are therefore Singapore, said the WTO’s extremely welcome. But more needs to be revised trade outlook should done. We need a renewed not come as a surprise given commitment to revitalise the strains facing the global the multilateral trading economy. The main reason for system which can restore economic certainty at a growth slowing down is betime when it is badly ing of course Europe where growth is slowing. But not needed. The WTO’s revised pro- only Europe, we also know jections for 2012 came as data that US is lower than exshowed global trade volume pected, said Lamy.
From Page-13 ment and mobilization is completed. He also directed Ministry of Communications to expedite the work on Lowari Tunnel. It is a very strategic project as its completion would open access to Tajikistan, an important Central Asian State, he added. Soon after the meeting, the Prime Minister left for a two-day visit to flood-affected areas of Southern Punjab and Balochistan. He will also give away cheques to the victims of fire incident in Karachi, on Saturday night. The meeting was attended by Qamar Zaman Kaira, Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Ch. Saeed Iqbal, Parliamentary Secretary, Babar Yaqoob Fateh, Chief Secretary Balochistan, Syed M. Ali Gardezi Chairman NHA, Raja Nowsherwan Sultan, Member Planning NHA, Maj Gen Obaid Ullah Khan IG FC, Maj Gen Javed Mehmood Bokhari DG FWO and the Secretaries of relevant Ministries.
Packages, Stora Enso From Page-13 through right shares in the joint venture company of $17.5 million, based on the financial results of second half of 2012 and the first half of 2013. Its sales are forecast to be approximately $130 million in 2012. Packages will continue to hold minimum 50 percent ownership and future profits of the joint venture. As part of the agreement, both parties are committed to a substantial $135 million investment programme during 2013 and 2014 to develop the business further. To finance this investment programme, Packages will contribute $18.5 million in cash to the JV Company subject to regulatory approvals. The joint venture will meet Stora Enso’s and Packages investment targets and the investment at Kasur mill, including a new alternate fuel based power plant, will further improve the product quality, competitiveness and profitability of the mill. The joint venture will employ about 950 people and its annual capacity will be 360,000 tons of paper board when the investments have been completed.
KARACHI: Haji Fazal Kadir Khan Sherani President FPCCI and S. M. Muneer President India-Pakistan CCI cochaired a meeting to discuss the suggestions and recommendations for improving trade relations between India and Pakistan. Shakeel Dhingra, Iqbal Dawood Pakwala, Begum Salma Ahmed, Amjad Rafi, Khurram Sayeed, Siddique Sheikh and Nasiruddin Sheikh also seen in the picture.
ICCI condemns property damages during protests STAFF REPORTER ISLAMABAD—President of the
Farooq Iftikhar elected new LCCI president SALIM AHMED
Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) Yassar Sakhi Butt on Saturday condemned damaging of private properties by the rioting mobs during Firday’s protests against the sacrilegious film properties across the country. Presiding over a meeting of businessmen at Chamber House here, Yassar Sakhi Butt said that the protesters should have expressed their anger in a peaceful and disciplined manner. By ransacking the businesses and properties, they have sent a very negative message to the international community that their (protetsters) approach is totally against the principles of Islam, he added. The private sector was the backbone of economy, but the frenzy mob ransacked various buildings in the country, causing loss of millions of rupees to the owners and rendering the business almost non-functional, which was a very unfortunate, he added.
L AHORE —Farooq Iftikhar
MCCI blasts anti-Islam film
STAFF REPORTER
STAFF CORRESPONDENT M ULTAN —Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) on Friday condemned the provocative, defamatory anti-Islam film, asking the government to convey its sentiments to the United Nations for necessary action against perpetrators. Acting President of MCCI Khawaja Muhammad Hussain said that all the industrial and commercial units remained closed on Friday to protest against the highly blasphemous film. He asked the United States to punish all those involved in the production of sacrilegious movie, which has hurt the sentiments of millions of Muslims across the world.
Saturday elected new president of Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI)while Irfan Iqbal Sheikh elected Senior Vice President and Mian Abuzar Shad elected Vice President. According to LCCI election schedule, September 22 was last date for filing of nominations for LCCI officebearers for year 2012-13 and no other candidate turned up for filing nomination against Farooq Iftikhar, Irfan Iqbal Sheikh and Mian Abuzar Shad therefore all the three made their way to victory stand. A formal announcement, however, would be made at the Annual General Meeting scheduled for September 29. The newly elected LCCI President Farooq Iftikhar
while spelling out his priorities called for tightening of belt to wear off the intensity of ongoing economic crisis. The LCCI President feared that if the belt was not tightened by both the government and the private sector, the answer would be nothing else but more poverty and joblessness. He said that tight monetary policy was not the only solution to fast increasing inflation but it could be tackled easily by increasing production and cutting unnecessary expenditures. He said that the business community would have to spend its energies for increasing exports, particularly the exports of non-traditional items. He said that high markup was crushing the whole industrial sector like anything and this needs to be taken care of by the concerned au-
‘Poor in society continues to suffer’ L AHORE —Mahbub-ul-Haq Centre’s 2012 report on Governance for People’s Empowerment stresses on the need to go beyond traditional measures of poverty based on income to incorporate multiple deprivations suffered by the poor, such as lack of access to education and health when estimating the extent of poverty in Pakistan. The last available official estimates for poverty released by the Government of Pakistan are more than 6 years old. According to these estimates, the proportion of people living below the calorie-based-income poverty line was 22.3 percent in 2005. This measure of poverty may be misleading as it ignores multiple deprivations suffered by the poor. In broader terms, poverty is a denial of opportunities the opportunity to
have access to good quality education and health-care facilities and the opportunity to earn a decent living. It is the inequality in opportunity for poor people to develop their potential that is deemed more unfair than the inequality in income alone. The report reveals the latest estimates for the Poverty of Opportunity Index (POPI), pioneered and developed by Dr. Mahbub-ul-Haq in 1998 for Pakistan and a few other select South Asian countries. The POPI goes beyond what is captured by traditional measures of poverty to include poverty of opportunity in health and education, in addition to income poverty. In recent years, the United Nations and the World Bank have also developed indicators such as the Multidimensional Poverty Index and the Human Opportunity Index that aim to capture the multiple deprivations suffered by the poor across the world.
Importance of human resource stressed STAFF REPORTER LAHORE—The future of every enterprise depends upon the quality of human resource it has as technology and economic shifts need innovative, creative and knowledge-based workers, said speakers at the Pakistan-India Management Summit. The two-day conference jointly organised by Aman ki Asha – the peace initiative of the Jang Group and the Times of India – and Nutshell Forum was aimed at establishing relations between management
practitioners and professional institutions in both countries. Over 600 delegates had gathered in Lahore in order to share their management experiences and challenges with a view to learning from each other and evolving best practices. Talking about the essentiality of quality leadership, management gurus advised the entrepreneurs to start nurturing the future workforce, in sync with contemporary trends. Federation Asia Sourcing Network president Mark Geary said that future economic activities would be
based on creativity and would be led by young generations based in Asia where countries like India and Pakistan enjoy a demographic advantage. He said the demand for products and services would multiply in the next two decades as the population of middle-income persons would double to five billion people. By 2020, he predicted, around 45 percent of the global workforce would be from the new generation that would operate on new values of transparency, authenticity and trust.
New proposal to end tariff differential STAFF REPORTER K ARACHI —The Planning Commission has proposed a revised tariff regime to eliminate tariff differential, subsidy and improved tariff collection with necessary legislations for penalties to arrest the power sector losses that have mounted to 21 percent, sources said. The implementation plan of framework for growth strategy of the Planning Commission has laid its prime emphasis on improved governance to attain energy security through reformed en-
ergy sector institutions for improved performance and comprehensive action plan to reduce losses, control theft and improve efficiency. Besides, amended NEPRA and Conservation Acts, ensuring recovery of cost could prevent recurrence of the circular debt, they said. The implementation of the growth strategy as per the plan would result in increased supply of electricity and gas in efficient, affordable and friendly manner to spur and sustain growth, according to the plan. The growth strategy aims at reducing the electricity
sector losses to 16 percent, elimination of power outages, reduction in gas distribution losses to five percent and elimination of gas outages by 2015-16. The commission’s plan noted that better guidance and enforcement of rules and regulations through revamped generation companies and Water and Power Development Authority’s hydel, privatisation of distribution companies and induction of professional management could result in fully corporatised and privatised energy sector.
thorities. The Federal Board of Revenue should also focus on simplification of taxes as existing procedures were cumbersome in comparison with other economies of the world. The LCCI President said that the main objective of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry was the promotion of trade and industry and all available resources would be utilized for economic turnaround as the economic meltdown had now started taking its toll and everybody in suffering badly. Farooq Iftikhar said that Research and Development was an area which if was given proper attention could do miracles. He said that the LCCI would, in collaboration with business community, work for the promotion of Research culture in Pakistan.
IMF, Pak officials From Page-13 pended for the last two and a half years would be restored. Pakistan has to repay 4.9 billion SDRs to IMF from the year 2012 to 2016. According to data available on IMF’s website, in the year 2012 Pakistan has to repay SDR 726.8 million which is the agreed loan repayment with SDR 39.9 million of accrued interest. The SDR is neither a currency, nor a claim on the IMF. Rather, it is a potential claim on the freely usable currencies of IMF members. Holders of SDRs can obtain these currencies in exchange for their SDRs in two ways: first, through the arrangement of voluntary exchanges between members; and second, by the IMF designating members with strong external positions to purchase SDRs from members with weak external positions. Under its Articles of Agreement (Article XV, Section 1, and Article XVIII), the IMF may allocate SDRs to member countries in proportion to their IMF quotas. Such an allocation provides each member with a costless, unconditional international reserve asset on which interest is neither earned nor paid.
HBFCL clarification STAFF REPORTER I SLAMABAD —House Building Finance Company Limited (HBFCL) has taken strong notice of inaccurate reporting in a section of the press, regarding the appointment and continuing in office of its regularly appointed MD and CEO, Azhar Abbas Jaffri. HBFCL has pointed out that as recently as September 10, 2012 it received a letter from the Finance Division, requesting the presence of Azhar Jaffri for a meeting of the PAC in Islamabad. The said letter is categorically addressed to Azhar Jaffri as ‘Managing Director HBFCL’, and hence reports in the media referring to some letters in the past from the Finance Division, and purporting to indicate that the Finance Division does not recognize Azhar Jaffri as the MD, are categorically inaccurate and malicious.