POS Fees Collected Amount to 647.3 Million Rupees, Senate Finance Committee Briefed
ISLAMABAD ( WEB NEWS )
The Senate Finance and Revenue Standing Committee was informed that a total of 647.3 million rupees have been collected in POS fees, of which 309.3 million rupees were used for employee welfare. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) informed the committee that Pakistan will receive 2 billion dollars annually over the next three years, with 2.8 billion dollars of the aid provided on soft terms.
The committee, chaired by Senator Saleem Mandviwalla, approved the Banking Companies (Amendment) Bill 2024 with certain amendments. Issues related to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) were also discussed during the meeting. A discussion on the transportation of goods between Pakistan and Iran and the imposition of a 10% levy was postponed due to the absence of Senator Manzoor Ahmed.
The committee was briefed that Pakistani trucks transporting goods from Quetta to Iran are being charged an additional 10% by Iranian authorities, while no such charges are imposed on Iranian trucks transporting goods from Quetta to Iran. The committee recommended that the Ministry of Communications raise the issue with the Iranian authorities in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The committee also discussed the levy of a 1 rupee POS fee on receipts and its usage, as well as the legal aspects of provincial taxes on exports. The ADB Country Director, Yang Yi, briefed the committee on the bank’s financial support for Pakistan, outlining that 802 million dollars have been provided in recent years. The bank also committed 1.5 billion dollars for flood relief in 2022 and provided 500 million dollars for COVID-19 vaccines in 2020.
The ADB plans to provide 6 billion dollars in financial support over the next three years, including 2.8 billion dollars on soft terms, with a focus on technology and infrastructure development.