The Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet has approved a financial package of 78 billion rupees for the exchange companies while revising the remittance scheme from abroad.
Under which the financial benefit for exchange companies sending 100% foreign exchange through banking channel has been doubled from one rupee per dollar to two rupees per dollar.
The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) meeting of the Cabinet was held on Thursday under the chairmanship of Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb. In the meeting, a three-point agenda was considered. Under the new home remittance scheme, the ECC has fixed financial incentives for exchange companies. And the variable is divided into two parts.
For the exchange companies that deposit 100% of foreign exchange on the fixed component to the authorized banks of the State Bank, it has been approved to increase the financial benefit from one rupee to two rupees per dollar, while for the variable component, the exchange market from the State Bank to the State Bank has been approved. Five percent of the foreign exchange deposited in the authorized banks will be provided at the rate of three rupees per dollar on the amount up to two and a half million dollars.
In addition, the exchange companies depositing foreign exchange worth more than 2.5 million dollars will be paid at the rate of 4 rupees per dollar. Also the financial benefit is divided into fixed and variable parts.
There will be no charges for overseas Pakistanis sending remittances up to $100 and receiving them in Pakistan through TT. However, earlier the authorized dealers through whom this money was transferred used to get a fixed amount, now this too has been divided into two parts.
Last year, with the approval of ECC, the government has increased the financial benefit on transactions shared between overseas remittance financial institutions and Pakistani banks from 20 SAR to 30 SAR. Now the fixed component will get 20 SAR per transaction. However, an increase of up to 10% on the variable component or a transaction of up to 100 million dollars will be added at the rate of eight dollars per transaction, while an additional increase of up to 10% or a transaction worth more than 100 million dollars will be added at the rate of seven rupees per transaction.
The ECC also approved the implementation of the framework agreement between Pakistan and China for the realignment of the 39 km long Chakdra, Timurgarh road project and Thahkot, Raikot. In the meeting, the approval of the 39 km long Chakdra, Timurgarh road project Apart from this, the implementation of the framework agreement between Pakistan and China was also approved to award the contract of 241 km Thahkot, Raikot realignment under CPEC to Chinese companies without bidding by relaxing the public procurement rule 5.
It will cost 13.1 billion Chinese yuan or 2 billion US dollars. The need for the realignment of Thakot, Raikot is occurring because this part of the existing Karakoram highway is being constructed for the construction of Diamarbhasha Dam, Dasu Dam, Azad Patan Dam and Thakot Dam. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has directed that considering the current situation of the country’s foreign exchange, no pension will be paid in foreign currency to any retired person living abroad. He also directed that any such External debt will not be taken for road projects which cannot be repaid from the income of the project.
