Banks to Observe Extended Working Hours on March 30, 31 for Tax Collection

To facilitate the taxpayers in payment of government duties and taxes, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has decided that branches of all banks that are open on Saturday will observe extended banking hours over the coming weekend. According to SBP, the branches of the above mentioned banks will observe extended banking hours till 4:00 pm on Saturday (March 30) and Sunday (March 31) for collection of taxes through Alternate Delivery Channels (ADC’s) Over-the-Counter facilities. Further, to ensure same day clearing/ settlement of payment instruments, NIFT has been advised to arrange special clearings at 4:00 pm on March 30 and 31. Moreover, to eliminate the issue of spillover of tax receipts, banks will ensure that no instrument concerning government receipts, lodged during the aforementioned office hours, remains unattended at branch counters and must be lodged in the aforesaid special clearing in the value date of March 31. Further, banks have been advised to keep their concerned branches open on March 30 and 31 till such time that is necessary to facilitate the special clearings for government transactions by the NIFT