Pakistan Foreign Remittances can hit $30 billion mark
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LAHORE - Businessmen Panel (BMP) for Federation of Pakistan of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) on Wednesday demanded of the government to announce special measures for the facilitation of overseas Pakistanis to open dollar accounts in Pakistan. Talking to media persons here, BMP Chairman Mian Anjum Nisar said the expatriate Pakistanis should also be allowed to transfer their amounts through internet banking as it would encourage them to keep their foreign currency in Pakistani banks. He said in the Western countries, people had the facility to transfer their money anywhere in the world through internet banking or online transfer. The government should direct the State Bank of Pakistan to make a certain mechanism with the help of National Database Registration Authority for the overseas Pakistanis to open bank accounts online so that the country’s foreign remittances might increase, he added. He viewed that the expatriate Pakistanis were national asset, who were playing an important role in improving the country's finances through their remittances. Anjum Nisar claimed Pakistan could receive over $30 billion via foreign remittances if bottlenecks faced by banks and money transfer exchanges were removed. Similarly, he said, embargo of tax filer for overseas Pakistanis should be removed to open bank account in foreign currency because they earned money in another country and already paid taxes there.
However as per new rules, being a taxpayer was the pre-requisite for opening any new foreign currency account but the account holders would be paid in local currency instead of foreign currency, he added.
