All approved bank branches will be open and operating at extended hours on April 29 and 30 (Saturday and Sunday) to enable tax collection.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) announced Wednesday that, in response to the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) request, all bank branches that are normally open on Saturdays, including National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) branches and field offices of SBP Banking Services Corporation (SBP-BSC), will be open on April 29 and 30 to facilitate the payment of government duties and taxes.
It was also said that the branches will work till 6 p.m. to enable tax collection via ADC’s Over-the-Counter (OTC) service.
The SBP also asked the National Institutional Facilitation Technologies (NIFT) to organise special clearings on April 29 at 1pm and April 30 at 6pm to enable same-day clearing and settlement of payment instruments placed at NBP’s designated branches for customs collection.
The central bank urged all banks to maintain their clearing-related branches open for as long as necessary to enable NIFT’s special clearings this weekend.
A day earlier, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar instructed the FBR to step up efforts to realise the country’s full tax potential.
The statements were made by the finance czar while presiding over a meeting in Islamabad to examine the performance of the tax authority.
Dar pledged his full support to the FBR in carrying out its tax collecting responsibilities.
FBR Chairman Asim Ahmad delivered a thorough presentation on revenue projections and the FBR’s performance during the first nine months of the current fiscal year during the meeting. The FBR has declared that it would make every effort to fulfil its revenue target in the remaining months of the current fiscal year.
The FBR said on February 1 that it had collected Rs3,965 billion in tax collection in seven months (July-Jan) and that it would need to collect Rs3,505 billion more in the remaining five months (Feb-June) of the current fiscal to reach the Rs7,470 billion objective.
