News from Pakistan (26-11-2002)

• The Central Board of Revenue has withdrawn the powers of Collector, Collectorate of Customs, Sales Tax and Central Excise (Adjudication) to adjudicate the cases of assessment of tax including short-payment, wrong input tax credit or refund claimed and cases involving late filing and wrong filing of sales tax returns.
  
  
• The Pakistan Integrated Household Survey 2001-02 has shown considerable improvement on the four indicators i.e. basic education, primary health, population welfare and rural water supply and sanitation.
  
  
• Federal Minister for Commerce Humayoon Akhtar Khan has said that the continuation of existing policies would be decided after a thorough review.
  
  
• The Foreign Office spokesman said on Monday that work on the preliminaries to a final agreement between Pakistan and Turkmenistan on the laying of a gas pipeline via Afghanistan were progressing well and the three heads of state may hold a summit to finalise it some time towards the end of this year.
  
  
• Cotton growers have approached the government to seek Trading Corporation of Pakistan's intervention to stablise cotton market as process is sliding downward.
  
  
• Allowing bulk import of gold across the board, the government has decided in principle to maintain the rate of withholding income tax i.e. Rs.2 per ten gram from 2002-03, previously charged on regulated import of gold, official sources told.
  
  
• The State Bank has issued first two licences for the formation of foreign exchange companies to deal in the forex business.
  
  
• Equities showed plus signs at the Islamabad Stock Exchange where bulls remained in the front seat amid increase in index.
  
  
• The stock market here on Monday showed upward trend under the lead Dewan Motors and PIAC where business recorded small rise after support from the financial institutions.
  
  
• There is a general demand of commercial importers that free import of tractors should be allowed to bring down the prices following a competition between the local tractor manufacturers and importers.
  
  
• The State Bank has invited tenders for the auction of 6-months Treasury Bills instead of scheduled 3-months and one year T-bills, a move to set new bench-mark rate after slashing of discount rate last week.