ISLAMABAD: State Minister for Power Abid Sher Ali informed the Senate Standing Committee on Power on Wednesday that loadshedding had been reduced by 52 per cent while recoveries increased to 94pc in the past four years.

However, Senator Mir Israr Ahmed Khan Zehri, Chairman of the committee, expressed concerns over lack of gas and electricity to vast areas in Balochistan.

The minister said that power situation had improved significantly and several new projects were in the pipeline to provide gas connections as well as electricity to remote parts of the country.

The electricity production has been increased to 18,658MW from 11,800 megawatts in 2013, the minister said, adding that another 11,514MW will be added to the system by June 2018.

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“The shortfall of 8,000MW has now been reduced to 2,880 by June bringing down the loadshedding from around 12 hours to 3-4 hours daily, he informed the committee.

He said recoveries had been improved to 94pc from 89pc in 2013. He said areas with heavy line losses will continue to face longer duration of loadshedding as policy. He said that out of around 298 faulty transformers 270 had been repaired, which will eventually help in smooth power supply during peak summers.

“Besides, upgradation work at high power transmission lines is expected to be completed by June 2018, and currently repairs and upgradation work at 102 transmission lines out of 137 lines have been completed,” he added.

Mr Ali said that Pesco and Sepco have made recoveries amounting to Rs40 billion, but they still have to recover Rs150bn.

The senators expressed their dismay over lack of gas connections in large parts of Balochistan, including Khuzdar — that is the second largest city of the province. The committee suggested for supply of gas to Fata.

State Minister Jam Kamal said that there were plans for air-mix LGP projects in many areas to supply gas through pipelines.

Published in Dawn, October 5th, 2017

Abbasi seeks govt, private sector input for agri policy

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Wednesday stressed on the need for public and private sectors to collaborate and formulate a policy which will strengthen and promote agriculture in the county.

“In order to ensure food security and to address the issues faced by farmers, there is a need to prepare a comprehensive plan with input from agriculturalists,” PM Abbasi said.

He was speaking to a delegation of agriculturists. Minister for National Food Security and Research Sikander Hayat Khan Bosan was also present in the meeting.

Issues relating to the agriculture sector including cost of production, productivity, marketability and competitiveness of local agri-products and challenges faced by farmers came under discussion.

Export potential of the sector and new opportunities generated under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor were also discussed.

The prime minister formed a committee comprising the representatives of the ministries of finance and commerce, Federal Board of Revenue and agriculturists to review and overcome issues pertaining to input prices, taxes and over-billing of electricity charges.

Mr Abbasi assured the agriculturists of continued support of the government.

He appreciated the role of the agriculture sector towards employment, economic growth and ensuring food security in the country.

The agriculture sector remained a key priority of the government and every effort was being made to facilitate farmers, especially small farmers to flourish and contribute towards economic growth, the prime minister stressed.

Talking to Dawn after the meeting, Kissan Ittehad President Khalid Khokhar said the prime minister had agreed to review over-billing of power supply. In this regard, teams will review the issue district-wise, he added.

The newly-formed committee will also review the prices of fertilisers since there is no balance in pricing due to GST, he said.

The delegation included Imdad Nizamani, Syed Nadeem Shah, Sahibzada Qudratullah, Maseer Muhammad Maidakhel, Malik A Rehman Lang, Mian Umair Masood, Chaudhry Rizwan Iqbal, and Mian Ghulam Mustafa Wattoo.

Published in Dawn, October 5th, 2017

SalamAir flies Pakistan’s skies

Since the announcement of the National Aviation Policy (NAP) 2015 – whereby the government liberalised the air market to encourage foreign airline participation, particularly from the Middle East, the future of Pakistan’s air and travel industry appears promising. Based on current economic and demographic growth, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has projected that intra-Pakistan air traffic will grow at 9.9% over the next 20 years; more than twice the 4.1% projected annual world growth rate (source: JCR-VIS Pakistan Aviation Industry Report 2016).

The latest entrant to venture into Pakistani skies is SalamAir, a budget airline from Oman, launched in January 2017 with the objective to bridge the demand gap for quality and affordable flights by business, leisure and religious travellers on short-haul routes to and from Oman. SalamAir currently flies daily from Muscat to Dubai and Jeddah and thrice a week to Karachi, Madina and Sialkot.

Based on current economic and demographic growth, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has projected that intra-Pakistan air traffic will grow at 9.9% over the next 20 years; more than twice the 4.1% projected annual world growth rate (source: JCR-VIS Pakistan Aviation Industry Report 2016).
In Pakistan, the airline began operations from Sialkot and according to Mohsin Al-Balushi, Commercial Director, SalamAir, “this is a very exciting time for aviation in Pakistan; especially after the NAP 2015 announcement that laid the groundwork for the industry to capitalise on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and attract new investment into the sector.”

Terming CPEC as a “corridor of tremendous opportunities”, Al-Balushi says it will be a catalyst for future business and economic activity and will generate thousands of jobs across Pakistan. It will also open up an era of unprecedented growth for both domestic and international air cargo and passenger traffic. Moreover, the flights will also serve the needs of the Sultanate’s Pakistani community, which is currently over 220,000.

Elaborating on aviation prospects in Pakistan, Al-Balushi quotes the World Bank’s forecast whereby Pakistan will experience a growth rate of 5.5% by 2018. Pakistan has also been classified as the world’s fifth fastest growing economy. Given these projections, he believes more affordable airlines will be keen to follow SalamAir’s lead and will begin services in Pakistan as well.

Terming CPEC as a “corridor of tremendous opportunities”, Al-Balushi says it will also open up an era of unprecedented growth for both domestic and international air cargo and passenger traffic. Moreover, the flights will also serve the needs of the Sultanate’s Pakistani community, which is currently over 220,000.
Furthermore, the launch of SalamAir will enable Pakistan’s business community to capitalise on Oman’s investor-friendly regulatory framework and the many options its economy offers including tourism, manufacturing, fisheries, mining and logistics. Similarly, it will also open up travel for Omanis keen to explore the opportunities arising from CPEC projects.

In terms of why SalamAir began operations from Sialkot, Al-Balushi says it is a major export city of Punjab and which has remained an under-served destination. “We saw a promising development there and this has proven very successful.” By starting flights from Sialkot, SalamAir is not only targeting the business community of one city, but of the entire ‘export triangle’ (Gujrat, Gujranwala and Sialkot), which manufactures and exports ceramics, cutlery, gloves, leather garments, sports goods, sportswear and surgical tools. Apart from SalamAir, five other international airlines operate direct passenger and cargo flights from Sialkot Airport including Air Arabia, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Fly Dubai and Qatar Airways.

SalamAir’s flights in Karachi began in June and the third target city is Multan which according to Al-Balushi, is under discussions. “Although we were given the slot approval for Multan months ago, we are still waiting for landing permission.” The airline is also working on expansion to new destinations and these will be announced shortly.

SalamAir has a fleet of three A320s; passengers have three ticket options; Light, Friendly and Flexi. With a hand baggage allowance of seven kilograms, ‘Light’ is the lowest fare option and does not permit any change or cancellation once the booking is made. ‘Friendly’ has a baggage allowance of 20 kg as well as the facility of making changes by paying a fee. The ‘Flexi’ option allows the same baggage allowance, a priority check-in and the ability to change flights without paying a fee.

Keeping in mind the competition from multiple international airlines, SalamAir aims to grab market share through a competitive price structure. A one-way trip from Karachi to Muscat via SalamAir is priced between Rs 8,000 and 9,400. In comparison, the same flight on Etihad Airways costs Rs 24,000, on Fly Dubai and Air Arabia Rs 19,000, on Emirates Rs 23,000 and on Oman Air Rs 25,000 respectively. In terms of local airlines, only PIA (market share 51% as of FY15) and Airblue (market share 13%) fly to Muscat. The former charges between Rs 23,000 and 26,000 (from any city to Muscat) while Airblue offers only Lahore to Muscat flights for Rs 22,000.

Based on the above, Al-Balushi is confident that SalamAir will be successful in redefining the experience of budget airline travel by offering reliability, safety and affordability. “We have opened up the skies to passengers who were previously inhibited from flying because of the cost, while enabling others to fly more frequently.”

As more international flights touch local runways, Pakistan’s airports are expected to earn huge revenues and passengers will benefit from more choice, better services and competitive prices and discounts. Al-Balushi ends with a word of caution: “However, I hope the airport infrastructure improvements to sustain this growth will remain a priority for the government of Pakistan.”

can any body reply.....

what is the difference between income tax ordinance 2001 and income tax rules 2002??????????

Income Tax Ordinance 2001 deals with the following;

CHARGE OF TAX,
TAX ON TAXABLE INCOME,
COMPUTATION OF TAXABLE INCOME,
HEAD OF INCOME SALARY,
HEAD OF INCOME INCOME FROM PROPERTY,
HEAD OF INCOME INCOME FROM BUSINESS,
Tax Accounting
HEAD OF INCOME CAPITAL GAINS,
HEAD OF INCOME INCOME FROM OTHER SOURCES,
EXEMPTIONS AND TAX CONCESSIONS,
LOSSES,
TAX CREDITS,
DEDUCTIBLE ALLOWANCES,
COMMON RULES,
ASSETS,
TAX YEAR, etc

while, Income Tax Rules 2002 deals with the following;

DETERMINATION OF INCOME - HEADS OF INCOME,
PERSONS
TAXATION OF FOREIGN-SOURCE INCOME OF RESIDENTS
TAXATION OF NON-RESIDENTS
TRANSFER PRICING
RECORDS AND BOOKS OF ACCOUNTS
TAX CLEARANCE CERTIFICATE
NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, ETC

__________________
“What we need in this country today is more courage and more belief in the things that we have.”- Thomas J. Watson

Attention pls............


it is requested from the candidates belonging to Punjab region

WHO HAVE NOT RECEIVED THE LETTER/SMS FOR INTERVIEW

to provide following detail

name

serial no.

roll no.




Because interviews for lahore are about to close but we have not received the letters for interview...................

Received text yesterday and the letter today. Roll no in 57000s.

__________________
"If we don't stand for something, we may fall for anything."

When interview will be conducted???

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Candidate No 1:

My Interview Experience 06-10-2017 Lahore: 1st Member: Your Name is Syed Namwar Abbas 1. what is the meaning of ur name 2. who suggest ur name 3. ur current job experiance 4. why do u want to join fbr 5. ur ideal personality 6. Apne apne Nam k Shayan e Shan aj tk aisa kya kia hai ? 2nd Member: 1. Fbr Taxes 2. Direct n Indirect tax 2. Advance tax 3. Minimum tax 4. Appellate Forums of fbr 5. Dif b/w Fed n prov tax 6. value added tax 7. y we impose minimun tax 3rd Member. 1. Balance sheet 2. Financial year 3. Fixed n variable Cost n their effects on production. 4. Single n Double entry system. 5. History of Accounting as a subject. 6. Public n Private co. 7. Depreciation..

Candidate No 2:

First member Rizwan ul Haq
Where from you?
Where are you working , ask about company and its owner name then reffered to second member.
Second member commissioner FBR
What is minimum tax?
How we apply minimum tax on companies?
Withholding tax and its examples?
Active tax payers list?
If you are paying income tax , will you be shown in active taxpayer list?
Forums of appeal?
Where we can go after appellant tribunal?
Can we tax federal government
Can we tax provincial government
Third member Ambassador Abdul Malik
Ask about degree related questions
What is education?
Worksheet?
The other terms I don't recall as I was listening for the first time

Candidate No 3:

My interview experience at Lahore:
My number was 2nd in the list as i got late due to some genuine reason so the assistant told me now u have to go at the last i said ok no problem.
As i entered the room Tarar sb took my strict class for coming late i told him the reason. then he continued so you have done MBA from PU i replied yes sir.
>Tarar sb: can u tell me what is ASEAN
i replied yes it is an association of south east asia countries established for the welfare of that region.
>He asked: and what is SCO:
I replied shangai cooperation organization russia china central asian countries are member pak india recently became its full members.
>What are some regulatory authorities in pakistan?
i replied its NEPRA, OGRA, SECP
> he said in financial sector u have only told one SECP i further replied SBP also a regulator of forex maket. he said now ok.
>what are the sources of finance a company have?
i replied a company can issue share to general public or it can take loans from commercial banks.
>Have u tried your luck in any competitve exams
I said yes i was appeared in 2016 in css but could not qualify written .
>SO in which paper u fail
i said only in english precis and compostion
> and in essay
i said i passed the essay paper
> ok which essay did u attempt
i attempted does foreign aid help in acheiving economic stablitiy?
> so do u agree with the statement
i replied no sir i dont ... aid never brings economic stablitiy untill and unless it is used efficiently in revenue generating sectors so that it makes the country self sufficient. but there are only few exception to this may be 1 or 2 example that it did help in acheiving but mainly it does not help in economic stability.
2nd member FBR:
what is depreciation?
it is gradual decrease in the value of asset or the method through which we divide the cost of asset to its useful life.
what is deifference b/w accounting and tax depreciation?
in tax we normally use written down value method for depreciation and has its own fixed rate of depreciation but in accounting corporation/ business can use any method and any rate for depreciation suitable to them.
can we tax federal govt or provincial govt?
No we cannot tax them they are exempt.
in there any situation in which we can tax provincial govt?
I replied no sir... but i was wrong this time tarar sb corrected me yes u can in proviso said something like that i said sorry sir dont know abt that.
what is small company?
i replied any company having paid up capital uto 50 millionn or emloyees upto 250 and annual turnover upto 250 million.
why u blacklist or suspend someone registration in fbr?
i said sorry i dont know abt that.
3rd member:
what are total debts of pakistan?
i said it is abt 23000 billion rupees.
in this how much internal and external
i said almost 8500 billion rupees are external remaning internal he said in dollar external i said 85 billion dollar.
what are types of equity?
i said common stock and preferred stock
what is circular debt in which sector it belongs to?
i said it belong to power sector it occcurs when there are more payables and less receivables.
in the end tarar sahab was like feeling sorry for taking my class and said that u might have missed this interview. its ok thank you.
JAZAK-ALLAH

__________________
“What we need in this country today is more courage and more belief in the things that we have.”- Thomas J. Watson

dear kindly share the date of your interview.

also if you can share you cell number pls so that we may have some productive discussion.

Interviews restart from 16th. Mine is in the same week.

Bro, you can contact me via email in my profile.

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"If we don't stand for something, we may fall for anything."

Check your mail.

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