Cellular Companies Evaded Rs. 47 Billion Sales Tax, NAB Summons Cellular Companies: ProPakistani

Cellular Companies Evaded Rs. 47 Billion Sales Tax, NAB Summons Cellular Companies
Ufone Brings 5 Star SMS Offer
Zong Introduces Perfect Package
Nokia Brings First-Ever Nokia App Summit to Pakistan
AbacusConsulting Celebrates 100 Successful SAP Business One ERP Implementations

Cellular Companies Evaded Rs. 47 Billion Sales Tax, NAB Summons Cellular Companies

Posted: 11 Jul 2012 10:43 PM PDT

Cellular companies operating in Pakistan were not paying taxes for interconnection charges, since 2007 for reasons not ascertained as of now. However, it is believed that cellular companies were relying on section 65 of the Sales Tax Act, 1990 to escape from taxes on revenues they earn from interconnection charges.

It merits mentioning here that interconnection charges of 90 paisas per minute are charged from customers for cross-network calls and is paid to operator that receives call.

Federal Board of Revenue somehow didn't question the companies about non-payment of this sales tax but it was caught by FBR tax auditors in 2010.

When FBR asked these companies to pay the tax, the companies filed a case with the Commissioner Inland Revenue (CIR). The CIR told them to pay the tax, but cellular companies escalated the issue and filed an appeal in the Appellant Tribunal Inland Revenue (ATIR).

The Tribunal gave a decision in favor of interconnect charges. This was when all cellular operators appealed to the Chief Commissioner of Large Tax Unit with a plea that they were ready to pay tax from July 1, 2012, but asked him to waive the tax of the last four years, claiming the tax evasion had happened inadvertently.

Meanwhile FBR was evaluating the tax exemption application but probably it was too late as the file had hit the National Accountability Bureau table and matter came into limelight.

Admiral (retd) Fasih Bokhari, Chairman NAB, took suo moto notice and asked Chairman FBR to appear in person to explain details about defaulted amount.

Chairman FBR was also directed not to take any further action in terms of waiver of tax worth Rs 47 billion to cellular companies. Chairman NAB, along with, constituted a fact-finding committee comprising DG Operations, Director Special Operations and a senior Banking Officer of NAB to probe into the matter.

The Chairman FBR when appeared before NAB's fact-finding committee, NAB officials pointedly questioned him on grounds for considering a tax waiver to cellular companies amounting to more than 40 billion (26 billion principal amount, default surcharge and penalty) based on interconnect charges.

Initially Chairman FBR said that he is going to give waiver to cellular companies. He (Chairman FBR) tried to convince the inquiry committee that waiver is in line with the law and he was intended to grant waiver on very next day. However, once he was confronted with evidence and supporting documents, he thanked NAB for timely intervention and guidance provided to him by NAB in safeguarding the interest of national exchequer and the interest of FBR.

He accepted view point of NAB and agreed on 4-point agenda.

No waiver whatsoever will be granted to cellular companies on grounds of interconnect charges.
He will depute his lawyer to get stay vacated by producing evidence in the honorable court which has been pointed by the NAB.
He will approach NAB where the necessity of recovery arises.
He expressed his commitment to work closely with NAB in larger interest of safeguarding the national exchequer.

Yesterday NAB has summoned representatives of five major cellular companies to know their viewpoint. Reportedly, representatives of all cellular companies held a meeting yesterday to figure out how best to deal with the situation.

It is likely that cellular companies will have to eventually pay the taxes, with some concession maybe, to get the file closed.

Ufone Brings 5 Star SMS Offer

Posted: 11 Jul 2012 10:22 PM PDT

Ufone introduces 5 Star SMS offer, that will allow its customers to enjoy 500 SMS free to any network, at any time after first 5 paid SMS.

However, first five SMS will be charged at Rs. 1.50 plus tax per SMS.

5 Star SMS Offer Details:

To avail free SMS all users have to do is to send 5 SMS on any given day and receive 500 SMS absolutely free for the rest of the day.
User will be charged at Rs. 1.50+Tax per SMS for first 5 SMS
There is no opt-in or subscription charges applicable for this promotion.
Users will be eligible for the offer twice in 24 hours, i.e. if they consume 500 SMS then they can avail another 500 SMS after sending 5 paid SMS.

Once the 5th SMS is sent customer will get the following notification:

"Congratulations! Now you can send Unlimited SMS for the rest of day, validity DD-MM-YY 23:59 HRS. To check your remaining No. of Free SMS dial *706#"

User can Dial *707# and check the SMS count at any time. Charges to check the count of SMS and other details on *707# are Rs.0.10+Tax.

If a user consumes 500 SMS before expiry, his/her counter will be reset again to 0 SMS and the cycle will start again. Free SMS are valid for all local SMS only i.e. International SMS will be charged as per tariff plan. The offer is valid for non-bucket users only as their initial SMS are not being charged. This offer is for prepaid users only.

Terms & Conditions:

Free SMS will expire the same day at 11:59pm
User will be notified via SMS when Free SMS are activated and when free SMS expire.
Free SMS are valid for all local SMS only i.e. International SMS will be charged as per tariff plan
This offer is for prepaid users only.
This is a limited time offer
Terms & conditions apply
19.5% FED on usage and 10% withholding tax at recharge or bill applies.
Using SIMS without proper documentation is a crime – PTA
5 Star SMS offer will not be applicable on Chand Raat and First 3 days of Eid.

To read more, click: Ufone Brings 5 Star SMS Offer
ProPakistani.PK

Zong Introduces Perfect Package

Posted: 11 Jul 2012 09:22 PM PDT

Read this post in Urdu

After introducing Flutter for Ladies, Zong has hit the youth with a perfect package which they have named as "Perfect Package" as well.

Zong Perfect Package comes with a bundle of services of all kinds at a fixed daily rental. With Perfect Package, Zong has made sure that there's nothing missed in the plate. Keep reading to know all.

What's included:

Free on net call except 7pm-10pm
500 FREE SMS
100 FREE MMS
1 hour FREE GPRS
On-net calls between 7 PM-10 PM: Rs 1.5/ min + tax
Off-net Calls (Round the clock): Rs. 1.5/min + tax

Cost:

All above mentioned services are being offered at a daily rental of Rs. 15, including taxes.

Activation

Dial *717# to subscribe or
Send SUB to 7171. Also even any blank SMS to 7171 will be considered as an activation request.

Un-sub

To un sub from bundle: send unsub to 7171

Terms and Condition:

Any Zong subscriber can avail this Perfect Package
After subscribing to perfect package, your base package will automatically convert to m9 1.5 – except if subscriber is already on m9 package
User will be charged as per m9 1.5 tariff once free resources for SMS, GPRS & MMS have been consumed
All previous add up promotions will be retained except those who have daily validity
Port in subs will get free trial for 3 days

To read more, click: Zong Introduces Perfect Package
ProPakistani.PK

Nokia Brings First-Ever Nokia App Summit to Pakistan

Posted: 11 Jul 2012 09:03 PM PDT

Nokia has announced a one-of-its-kind event – The Nokia App Summit 2012 that will be held in Karachi to showcase its latest better, faster and smarter offerings along with a line-up of relevant app content developed by Pakistani developers that adds up to a mobility experience par excellence.

The event will feature a unique mix of stalwarts from the local mobile and app developer communities, corporate sector and social development sector of Pakistan.

The event will be held on July 16^th and 17^th, 2012 at Karachi Marriott Hotel and is being organized in collaboration with P@SHA, djuice, CIO Pakistan, The Express Tribune, Apna Karachi FM-107 and Brandsynario.

The Nokia App Summit 2012 will comprise a conference, a developers' workshop and an app exhibition; aiming to familiarize participants and visitors with Nokia's latest offerings. The Conference will feature speaker sessions of leading protagonists from Pakistan's technological, social and corporate sectors followed by panel discussions which will shed light upon the involvement of mobile technology in the fields of healthcare, education, advertising and app monetization.

The panel discussions shall create awareness about the future of mobile technology in Pakistan and channelize local talent to explore new business opportunities. Similarly, the Developers' Workshop will be offered to app developers and students from Pakistan to train them to develop apps for the touch devices – Asha series launched recently by Nokia.

The App Exhibition shall promote local app content amongst visitors and give them an opportunity to discover the incredible local content available on the Nokia Store.

Speaking about the announcement, Rabia Nizami, Business Development Manager, DX, Nokia Near East said, "Pakistan is a hub of talent in the field of technology and Nokia views this repertoire of aptitude as a significant opportunity which can prove pivotal for the development of Pakistan's mobile technology infrastructure in the future. The Nokia App Summit 2012 is the first step towards showcasing how exciting the future is likely to be for Nokia consumers as well as Pakistan's app developer community."

Limited seats are available for participation in Conference and can be availed by registering through the event secretariat. Developers' Workshop is now closed for registration. Furthermore, no registration is required for participating in the App Exhibition; exhibition will be held on both days of the event from 2:00pm to 8:00pm, parallel to other event proceedings.

All relevant information about the event is available on event website: http://www.cvent.com/d/hcqzvx and event Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/events/416292051751022/.

AbacusConsulting Celebrates 100 Successful SAP Business One ERP Implementations

Posted: 11 Jul 2012 09:00 PM PDT

AbacusConsulting is celebrating the successful implementations of one hundred SAP Business One ERP solution across Pakistan. To commemorate the milestone, a grand ceremony was held today at the Royal Palm Gold and Country Club, Lahore.

AbacusConsulting has been providing SAP Business One to small and medium size enterprises throughout the country, enabling them to integrate critical data and obtain easy access to the required information for the purpose of improving the decision making process.

AbacusConsulting, already distinguished as the first Gold Partner of SAP in Pakistan, earned further accolade vis-a-vis its relationship with SAP and become the first Master Value Added Reseller (Master- VAR) of SAP Business One in the country.

The exclusive event in Royal Palm was organized to celebrate the years of collaboration and success between AbacusConsulting and its clientele.

The event, which was attended by over three hundred people, provided an opportunity for AbacusConsulting to appreciate the clients for their support over the years. The Abacus team also offered extensive information and insights regarding SAP Business One to those present.

The event also focused on informing the clients on how to benefit from SAP Business One. Moreover, the Abacus team also provided the audience with a deep insight into how implementing SAP Business One could help an organization attain a clear-cut advantage over its competitors by bringing into use the supply and production planning modules, having an improved reporting system, timely work flow based alerts, exceptional management techniques and achieving end to end visibility.

On the occasion, Abbas Ali Khan (Partner at AbacusConsulting) said, "We are grateful to our clients for their vote of confidence and look forward for helping many other organizations implement their ERP systems. Erwan Philippe of SAP present on the occasions said, "The master VAR status elevates AbacusConsulting's relationship with SAP, and together with them, we are very excited about the market in Pakistan".

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Thursday, July 12, 2012