ISLAMABAD – Positive development Reported for Pakistan from the FinancialAction Task Force FATF plenary session.
Pakistan getting into the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) blacklisthave diminished as several key players have termed Islamabad’s performancein the implementation of the 27-point recommendations regarding theanti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism mechanism as“commendable”, according to a report.
Reportedly, Pakistan has already obtained the support required to avoid theblacklist. However, during the meeting, no voting will be doneon Pakistan’s exit from the grey list as the period of stay in the list isat least two years.
Earlier in January, media reports emerging both from Pakistan and Indiasuggested “high chances” of Pakistan “exiting” the grey list at its plenarymeeting.
According to *India Today*link,afterheavy lobbying by China and with the help of a private consultant who is aFATF veteran, there is “a 75 percent chance of Pakistan exiting the greylist now”.
As Pakistan is required to take appropriate measures for the implementationof 27 points by October 2020, reports observed that Pakistan has adopted aneffective strategy in the financial sector to curb terror financing andenhanced cooperation between institutions to combat the transfer of fundsto terrorists.
The staff of the non-banking finance sector was informed about measurestaken by the state concerning FATF’s action points for AML/CFT.
Moreover, the efforts of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to effectivelymonitor financial institutions through audits and maintenance ofpassengers’ data at the airports have been hailed.
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The global illicit financing watchdog has also been informed of Pakistan’sstrategic plan to restrict the smuggling of currency, jewelry and othervaluables.
In the light of the FATF recommendations, the Tax Laws (second amendment)Ordinance, 2019, was issued to prevent the smuggling of currency and othervaluables, which was made applicable from Dec. 26, 2019.
Under the ordinance, strict penalties were to be imposed on the smugglingof foreign currency, gold and diamonds.
The government, through a presidential ordinance, introduced significantchanges to tax laws to implement concessions promised to traders, reducethe duty on import of low-value mobile phones, and penalise currencysmugglers.
The 24-page ordinance was notified on Dec 28 last year. The amendments werealso applied to income tax, sales tax and customs duty.
