SBP Allows Banks to Remit Fees Collected by Foreign Missions

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has allowed commercial banks to facilitate the foreign missions, embassies, and consulates working in Pakistan, in remitting the funds they collect in Pakistani Rupees as fees of various services to their respective authorities in their countries. In order to facilitate foreign embassies/consulates operating in Pakistan in remitting various fees such as visa/consular/document attestation fees etc. collected by them in PKR accounts to their respective ministries/authorities in home countries, it has been decided to allow general permission to Authorized Dealers for remitting such fees, a circular issued by the SBP stated. The remittance may be allowed by the authorized dealers after conducting necessary due diligence of transaction and satisfying themselves with respect to bonafide of the request through the review of underlying documents, adds the circular. Recently, regulations on remittance of profit and head office expense by branches of foreign companies have been revised whereby the function of processing such requests has been delegated to authorized dealers for the facilitation of stakeholders. Instructions on remittance of Royalty, Franchise, and Technical Fee (RFT) have been revised to align them with the current business environment. Moreover, in order to promote ease of doing business, the function of processing requests for acknowledgment of RFT agreements has been delegated to authorized dealers along with detailed guidelines in the matter. The central bank has taken various measures to facilitate businessmen and foreigners in the last few years with different schemes and policies. As a result, the inflows of remittances have been increasing in the country whereas businessmen and foreign are being facilitated in order to ease off outward remittances.