Islamic Finance and ICMAP

The Cost and Management Accountants (Amendment) Act, 2013 was introduced in the National Assembly here on Thursday. The Bill was presented by Federal Minister for Defence Syed Naveed Qamar on behalf of the Minister for Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh.

The proposed Bill is meant to amend the Cost and Management Accounts Act, 1966 so as to change the designation of Cost and Management Accounts to Chartered Management Accountant and to enable the institute (Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan) with the objective to provide optional specialised certification in cost accounting in specific sectors of the economy.

The statement of Objects and reasons of the Bill reads: The Cost and Management Accounts Act, 1966 created the institute Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan ("the Institute") whose members are designated as "Cost and Management Accounts" as per Section 7 of the Act. However, since 1966, internationally the accountancy profession standards have changed and the accountants formerly known as "Cost and Management Accounts" are today recognised as "Chartered Management Accountants". As a result, Pakistani expertise and skill faces hindrances and a recognition problem because the accountants continue to be designated as "Cost and Management Accounts".

The Bill further reads that the expertise of the members of the institute in cost accounting can be utilised by allowing sector/ industry specific specialisation in cost accounting and therefore provision should be made under the Act for the institute to offer certification in cost accounting for specific sectors of the economy/ industry. (Business Recorder January 25,2013)

Amendments in Income Tax Rules, 2002

2010-12-16T13:22:00.001+05:00

Federal Board of Revenue has proposed some amendments in the Income Tax Rules, 2002 vide SRO. 1119(I)/2010 .These amendments are applicable to Tx year 2010. The text of this SRO is as Below:-

S.R.O. 1119 (I)/2010.- The following draft of certain further amendments in the Income Tax Rules, 2002, which the Federal Board of Revenue proposes to make in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 237 of Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 (XLIX of 2001), is hereby published, as required under sub-section (3) of the said section, for the information of all persons likely to be affected thereby and notice is hereby given that the draft will be taken into consideration after fifteen days of its publication in the official Gazette.

DRAFT AMENDMENTS
In the aforesaid Rules, in the Second Schedule, in Part IIA, in Annexure A,-

(a) after S. No. 12 and the entries relating thereto, the following new serial numbers and entries relating thereto shall be inserted, namely:-

“13. Machinery and equipment qualifying for 1st year allowance,

14. Computer hardware including printer, monitor and allied items that have been used previously in Pakistan.

15. Any plant or machinery that has been used previously in Pakistan.

16. Any plant or machinery in relating to which a deduction has been allowed under another section for the entire cost of the asset in the tax year in which the asset is acquired; and

(b) S. Nos. 13, 14, 15 and 16 shall be re-numbered to read as S. Nos. 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 respectively.

2. This notification shall be applicable for the tax year 2010.

Source http://www.fbr.gov.pk/

Nomination for new edition of "The 500 Most Influential Muslims - 2011"

2010-12-13T22:20:00.001+05:00

The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre (RISSC)is an independent research entity affiliated with the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought. The Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought is an international Islamic non-governmental, independent institute headquartered in Amman, Kingdom of Jordan.RISSC has been publishing the book "the 500 Most Influential Muslims every year since 2009.
RISSC request every year for nomination from public for inclusion in new edition of this book.Nomination for the new edition of 'The 500 Most Influential Muslims 2011' are open from December 1, 2010 to February 1, 2011
Nominations will be evaluated on the basis of the influence that particular Muslims have had within the Muslim community and the manner in which their influence has benefited the Muslim community, both within the Islamic world and in terms of representing Islam to non-Muslims.
As the process of evaluating influence must account for many factors, nominators should include pertinent information and links where other information can be obtained. Letters of nomination should thus be comprehensive, but no longer than 500 words. The final outcomes will draw from the information received in nominations, and will be based upon the research of RISSC staff and input from academic consultants.
Points that will be considered and that should be addressed in the nomination include:
* Area of Influence (e.g. religious, political, academic)
* Geographical Region of Influence
* Number of People Influenced
* Duration of Influence
* Notable Contributions
* Pioneering Work
For nominations please click here
Source Zillion

IPSASB Publishes 2010 Annual Improvements Standard

2010-12-10T22:11:00.000+05:00

The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) has published Improvements to IPSASs—2010. The publication completed the IPSASB's improvements project for 2010. The IPSASB's improvements project was modeled on the IASB's annual update program. Improvements were made to existing IPSASs to maintain alignment with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs), as well as other general improvements. The 2010 amendments relate primarily to requirements for recognition, measurement, and disclosure. They did not represent substantive revisions to the content of existing standards.

Improvements to IPSASs—2010 is available to download free of charge from the IPSASB section of IFAC's Publications and Resources site (web.ifac.org/publications). The IPSASB encourages IFAC members, associates, regional accountancy bodies, and firms to use these materials and to promote their availability to members and employees.

Source: http://www.ifac.org/

NA body on Finance and Revenue mulls RGST over zero-rated textile sectors

2010-12-10T21:01:00.000+05:00

A half day meeting of the Sub-Committee of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue was chaired by Ms. Shahnaz Wazir Ali, MNA and Special Advisor to the Prime Minister on 7th December 2010 in FBR. The meeting was attended by two other MNAs namely Ms. Kashmala Tariq and Mr. Rashid Godil, Mr. Gohar Ejaz, Chairman APTMA, Mr. Zubair Motiwala, Chairman CAPTA, representatives of several textile sector associations, Chairman FBR and FBR officers.

Several issues relating to the five zero-rated sectors (Textile, leather, carpets, surgical goods and sports) and RGST were discussed extensively. The associations presented their point of view and requested that zero-rating be continued under the existing sales tax regime since removing zero-rating would lead to liquidity issues for these sectors. They requested that the intermediatary stages be not taxed and some other mechanism may be devised to collect taxes on the domestic sales of these sectors preferably at the retail stage.

There was a consensus that the exports of these five sectors should remain zero-rated whereas the domestic sales need to be taxed. The Sub-committee appreciated the concerns of the Textile associations and the need to facilitate the sector since it represented a major share of Pakistan’s exports.

The discussions of the sub-Committee with the representatives of these sectors shall continue in the next meeting of the sub-Committee scheduled on 11th December, 2010. Ms. Shahnaz Wazir Ali requested FBR and the representatives of the associations to present definite proposals on how the exports of these sectors could be facilitated and the local consumption brought into the tax net in the next meeting to help the Sub-committee firm up its views

Source: http://www.fbr.gov.pk/

The 500 Most Influential Muslims' in year 2010

2010-12-05T11:03:00.001+05:00

The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre has published the 2010 edition of its book 'The 500 Most Influential Muslims'.The top 20 persons who are included in this edition are listed below

1 His Majesty King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, King of Saudi Arabia, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques

2. His Excellency Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey

3. His Eminence Grand Ayatollah Hajj Sayyid Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran

4. His Majesty King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein, King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

5. His Majesty King Mohammed VI, King of Morocco

6. His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Sa‘id al Sa‘id, Sultan of Oman

7. His Eminence Professor Dr Sheikh Ahmad Muhammad al Tayeb, Grand Sheikh of the Al Azhar University, Grand Imam of the Al Azhar Mosque

8. His Eminence Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Hussein Sistani, Marja of the Hawza, Najaf, Iraq

9. His Excellency President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, President of Indonesia

10. His Eminence Sheikh Dr Ali Gomaa, Grand Mufti of The Arab Republic of Egypt

11. His Eminence Sheikh Abdul Aziz Ibn Abdullah Aal al Sheikh, Grand Mufti of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

12. Dr Mohammed Badie, Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood

13. Hodjaefendi Fethullah Gülen, Turkish Muslim Preacher

14. Sheikh Dr Yusuf al Qaradawi, Head of the International Union of Muslim Scholars

15. Amr Khaled, Preacher and Social Activist

16. Hajji Mohammed Abd al Wahhab, Amir of Tablighi Jamaat, Pakistan

17. Sheikh Dr Muhammad Sa‘id Ramadan al Bouti, Leading Islamic Scholar in Syria

18. Seyyed Hasan Nasrallah, Secretary General of Hezbollah

19. Dr KH Said Aqil Siradj, Chairman of Indonesia’s Nahdlatul Ulama

20. His Royal Highness Shah Karim al Hussayni, The Aga Khan IV, 49th Imam of the Ismaili Muslims

21. His Highness Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of Qatar

22. His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces

23. His Royal Eminence Amirul Mu’minin Sheikh as Sultan Muhammadu Sa’adu Abubakar III, Sultan of Sokoto

24. Her Eminence Sheikha Munira Qubeysi, Leader of the Qubeysi Movement

25. Sheikh Salman al Ouda, Saudi Scholar and Educator

In top 25 personelities mentioned in this book, Hajji Mohammed Abd al Wahhab, Amir of Tablighi Jamaat is

the only Pakistani who is at position 16 .This book can be download free from http://rissc.jo/docs/new/Muslim500-2010-Third-Edition-001.pdf.

2010-11-27T21:36:00.000+05:00

The Senate of Pakistan on Friday 26 Nov 2010 approved 15 recommendations for inclusion in Reformed General Sales Tax Bill, 2010 and four recommendations in Finance (Amendment) Bill 2010. Four recommendations which was approved in Finance (Amendment) Bill 2010 are listed below:-

In clause 2(4A)(1) the words "having income above rupees five hundred thousand" be added after the words "every taxpayer".
In clause 2(4A)(1) the word "income" in third line be deleted.
In clause 2(4A)(2) the word "various" be substituted with the words "any of the".
In the Federal Excise Act, 2005, in Section 3A, in sub-section (1), the following proviso shall be added, namely:- "Provided that during the period from the commencement of the Act to 30th June, 2011, the said rate shall be two percent."

GST Bill, 2010 (Proposed)

2010-11-14T20:11:00.000+05:00

GST Bill 2010 has been presented in National Assembly for approval .It will replace existing Sales Tax act 1990.Salient features of the new proposed GST system are as follows:-

Most of exemption will be abolished only few exemption will be available such as exemption on basic food items including wheat, rice, pulses, vegetables, fruits, live animals, meat and poultry etc. Edible oil chargeable to Federal excise duty will remain exempt from GST as before.

Exemptions earlier available for philanthropic, charitable, educational, health or scientific research purposes or under international commitments/agreements including grants-in-aid will also continue. Moreover, life saving drugs, books and other printed materials including newspapers and periodicals have been kept exempt.

Local consumption of sectors like textile (including carpets), leather, surgical and sports goods has however, been subjected to tax. Similarly, defence stores, stationary items, dairy products, pharmaceuticals (other than lifesaving), agricultural inputs, agricultural machinery and implements, aviation/navigation equipments including ships & aircrafts etc. have also been proposed to be taxed.

 GST will replace the existing regimes of sales tax and excises on services.

 GST will apply on both at import and local supply stages.

 Standard rate of 15% has been proposed instead of the present rate of 17% or multiple other rates going upto 25%.

 There shall be no fixed tax, reduced tax, enhanced tax, retail price-based tax or special tax scheme under the new GST system.

 A uniform enhanced annual exemption threshold of Rs.7.5 million (which is presently Rs. 5 million) shall be applied to keep small businesses including small traders/retailers/cottage industry out of mandatory tax compliance.

 All exports shall be zero-rated.

 Input tax adjustment of both direct and indirect constituents shall be allowed on “totals” basis (excluding entertainment and non-business use passenger vehicles).

 Sales tax on goods and services where so authorized by the Provinces shall be mutually adjustable so that double taxation does not occur.

 No general zero-rating shall be admissible on any commercial form of domestic supply or on any local consumption.

 The GST system will work purely on “self-assessment and self-policing” basis.

 Cash flow of businesses shall be facilitated through expeditious centralized (Electronic) refund payment system.

 Tax compliance shall be encouraged through transparent and fair audit system with increased use of modern information technology.

 Adjudication, appeal and alternative dispute resolution (ADR) systems have been provided as before.

 FBR will issue simplified rules to regulate the GST procedures and processes.

 The GST Bill 2010 shall take effect from such date as may be notified by the Federal government.

 The new GST system will be applied in FATA/PATA, the Province of Gilgit-Baltistan and AJ&K in due course.

Source http://www.fbr.gov.pk/

Short Keys for MS Excel

2010-11-09T18:19:00.000+05:00

Here are some very useful shortcut keys for MS excel.These shortcut keys can enhanced our efficiency and productivity

KEY DESCRIPTION

CTRL+SHIFT+( Unhide any hidden rows within the selection.

CTRL+SHIFT+) Unhide any hidden columns within the selection.

CTRL+SHIFT+& Applies the outline border to the selected cells.

CTRL+SHIFT_ Removes the outline border from the selected cells.

CTRL+SHIFT+~ Applies the General number format.

CTRL+SHIFT+$ Applies the Currency format with two decimal places (negative numbers in parentheses).

CTRL+SHIFT+% Applies the Percentage format with no decimal places.

CTRL+SHIFT+^ Applies the Exponential number format with two decimal places.

CTRL+SHIFT+# Applies the Date format with the day, month, and year.

CTRL+SHIFT+@ Applies the Time format with the hour and minute, and AM or PM.

CTRL+SHIFT+! Applies the Number format with two decimal places, thousands separator, and minus sign (-) for negative values.

CTRL+SHIFT+* Selects the current region around the active cell (the data area enclosed by blank rows and blank columns). In a PivotTable, it selects the entire PivotTable report.

CTRL+SHIFT+: Enters the current time.

CTRL+SHIFT+" Copies the value from the cell above the active cell into the cell or the Formula Bar.

CTRL+SHIFT+Plus (+) Displays the Insert dialog box to insert blank cells.

CTRL+Minus (-) Displays the Delete dialog box to delete the selected cells.

CTRL+; Enters the current date.

CTRL+` Alternates between displaying cell values and displaying formulas in the worksheet.

CTRL+' Copies a formula from the cell above the active cell into the cell or the Formula Bar.

CTRL+1 Displays the Format Cells dialog box.

CTRL+2 Applies or removes bold formatting.

CTRL+3 Applies or removes italic formatting.

CTRL+4 Applies or removes underlining.

CTRL+5 Applies or removes strike through.

CTRL+6 Alternates between hiding objects, displaying objects, and displaying placeholders for objects.

CTRL+8 Displays or hides the outline symbols.

CTRL+9 Hides the selected rows.

CTRL+0 Hides the selected columns.

CTRL+A Selects the entire worksheet.

If the worksheet contains data, CTRL+A selects the current region. Pressing CTRL+A a second time selects the current

region and its summary rows. Pressing CTRL+A a third time selects the entire worksheet.

When the insertion point is to the right of a function name in a formula, displays the Function Arguments dialog box.

CTRL+SHIFT+A inserts the argument names and parentheses when the insertion point is to the right of a function name in a formula.

CTRL+B Applies or removes bold formatting.

CTRL+C Copies the selected cells.

CTRL+C followed by another CTRL+C displays the Clipboard.

CTRL+D Uses the Fill Down command to copy the contents and format of the topmost cell of a selected range into the cells below.

CTRL+F Displays the Find and Replace dialog box, with the Find tab selected.

SHIFT+F5 also displays this tab, while SHIFT+F4 repeats the last Find action.

CTRL+SHIFT+F opens the Format Cells dialog box with the Font tab selected.

CTRL+G Displays the Go To dialog box. F5 also displays this dialog box.

CTRL+H Displays the Find and Replace dialog box, with the Replace tab selected.

CTRL+I Applies or removes italic formatting.

CTRL+K Displays the Insert Hyperlink dialog box for new hyperlinks or the Edit Hyperlink dialog box for selected existing hyperlinks.

CTRL+N Creates a new, blank workbook.

CTRL+O Displays the Open dialog box to open or find a file.

CTRL+SHIFT+O selects all cells that contain comments.

CTRL+P Displays the Print dialog box.

CTRL+SHIFT+P opens the Format Cells dialog box with the Font tab selected.

CTRL+R Uses the Fill Right command to copy the contents and format of the leftmost cell of a selected range into the cells to the right.

CTRL+S Saves the active file with its current file name, location, and file format.

CTRL+T Displays the Create Table dialog box.

CTRL+U Applies or removes underlining.

CTRL+SHIFT+U switches between expanding and collapsing of the formula bar.

CTRL+V Inserts the contents of the Clipboard at the insertion point and replaces any selection. Available only after you have cut or copied an object, text, or cell contents.

CTRL+ALT+V displays the Paste Special dialog box. Available only after you have cut or copied an object, text, or cell

contents on a worksheet or in another program.

CTRL+W Closes the selected workbook window.

CTRL+X Cuts the selected cells.

CTRL+Y Repeats the last command or action, if possible.

CTRL+Z Uses the Undo command to reverse the last command or to delete the last entry that you typed.

CTRL+SHIFT+Z uses the Undo or Redo command to reverse or restore the last automatic correction when AutoCorrect

2010-08-18T20:05:00.000+05:00

The Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) has issued two new accounting standards, one of which is a conceptual framework for financial reporting by Islamic financial institutions. AAOIFI is an Islamic international body that prepares accounting, auditing, governance, ethics and Shari’a standards for Islamic financial institutions and the industry. It has so far issued 42 standards covering areas of accounting, auditing, ethics and governance.

The Islamic financial institutions often encounter accounting problems because the existing accounting standards such as IFRSs or local GAAP etc are developed based on conventional institutions, conventional product structures or practices, and may be perceived to be insufficient to account for and

report Islamic financial transactions. Shariah compliant transactions that observe the prohibition to charge interest may not have parallels in conventional financing and therefore, there may be significant accounting implications. For more details, please click on http://www.aaoifi.com/

FINANCE ACT 2010

2010-07-04T15:02:00.000+05:00

Subject: EXPLANATORY CIRCULAR ON RATE OF ADVANCE TAX DEDUCTIBLE ON MONTHLY ELECTRICITY BILLS UNDER SECTION 235 OF THE INCOME TAX ORDINANCE 2001

In order to rationalize the advance tax regime on electricity bills, the Finance Act 2010 has brought in few amendments in Division-IV of Part-IV of First Schedule to the Income Tax Ordinance 2001. The new amendments are explained as follows:

(i) In case of the minimum tax rate slab where the monthly electricity bill does not exceed Rs.400/-. No advance tax under section 235 shall be deductible. Earlier advance tax on monthly electricity bills not exceeding Rs.400 was chargeable @ Rs.60/-;

(ii) In case of the maximum tax rate slab where the monthly electricity bill exceeds Rs.20,000/-, advance tax under section 235 shall be deductible at a reduced rate of 5% only in case of industrial consumers. However, in the case of commercial consumers the advance tax shall continue to be deductible @ 10%; and

(iii) These amendments in the rates of advance tax under section 235 and as provided in Division-IV of Part-IV of First Schedule to the Income Tax Ordinance 2001, shall be effective from 1st July, 2010.