ECC approves Ministry of Energy's plan to raise over Rs136b financial facility
The ECC decision would help clear up a total of 1017 vehicles currently stuck at Karachi port
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet (ECC) on Wednesday approved a proposal of Ministry of Energy to raise finance facilities of 136.45 billion rupees and 30 billion rupees for adjustment of existing finance facilities of Power Holding Limited.
A meeting of the ECC was held in Islamabad with Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh in the chair.
During the meeting, on a proposal by the Commerce Division, the ECC took up the import of used vehicles under personal baggage, transfer of residence and gift schemes which require the payment of duties and taxes to be paid out of foreign exchange arranged by Pakistani nationals themselves or local recipients producing proof of conversion of foreign remittance to local currency.
The meeting allowed the importers to meet any shortfall in arrangement of required foreign remittance for payment of duties and taxes through local sources in case of a scenario where the Pakistani rupee depreciates or government increases the import duties and/or taxes after the receipt of remittance and before the filing of the good declaration, which results in shortfall of remitted amount vis-a-vis payable duties and taxes.
The ECC decision would help clear up a total of 1017 vehicles currently stuck at Karachi port because either no foreign remittance had been received or the remitted amount had been rendered insufficient due to depreciation of PKR before the filing or goods declaration or increase in the rate of duty in the Finance Act 2019.
The ECC also approved a proposal authorizing the Ministry of Communications to proceed for Procurement of Consultancy Services for Section-III Kalkatak-Chitral (48 km) under the Chakdara-Chitral Road Project (N-45).
The ECC also approved a proposal by the Finance Division for acquisition of 8.5 percent additional shares of EPCL South Africa by enhancing Standby Letter of Credit by 2.7 million dollars which would bring the aggregate investment of Packages Limited to 17.7 million dollars.
The ECC also considered and approved two separate proposals by the Ministry of National Health Services for one technical supplementary grant of 784 million rupees to pay for increase in the allowances of doctors and another technical supplementary grant of 228.547 million rupees to pay for the increase in allowances and stipends of regular and student nurses and of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Federal Government Polyclinic, National Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine and Federal General Hospital.
The ECC also took up separate proposals of Defence Division for one technical supplementary grant of 6.210 billion rupees to pay for recurring cost of the Special Security Division (North) and another technical supplementary grant of 4.966 billion rupees to pay for Internal Security Duty Allowance to the Army troops deployed at the western border.
