Finance
Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar here on Thursday chaired
a meeting to review the performance and other matters related to National
Savings.
At the outset
the Finance Minister stated that it had come to his notice that an anomaly in
the tax regime had resulted in taxation of yield on Behbood Certificates and
Pensioners Benefits accounts. Apparently the impact on taxation of these
schemes was an unintended consequence of certain legal changes introduced in
the Finance Act. He said that he has already instructed FBR to take
appropriate measures to remove the anomaly. DG Zafar
Masud briefed the meeting on performance of the National Savings during the last
one year. The briefing covered the progress made in areas like financial
inclusion through automation, introduction of new products and improving the
customer service and outreach.
The meeting
was informed that National Savings has emerged as a formidable vehicle for
financial inclusion with introduction of popular welfare oriented products and
registering a large number of customers of which more than 50% were women. The
efforts of National Savings are being actively supported by the World Bank and
Karandaaz (DFID and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) through up-gradation of
IT system, offering alternate delivery channels (cell phone, internet banking
and ATM cards), Enterprise Resource Planning system (ERP), Business
Intelligence, Data Warehouse, capacity building and training etc.
He
said that the efforts of National Savings in promoting financial inclusion have
been lauded and recognized, not only nationally but also internationally. The
reputed CFI magazine UK has recently bestowed on National Savings the award for
“outstanding performance in promoting financial inclusion-2017”.
The award is
in fact a recognition of the progress made by National Savings in the last one
year on the automation front with 2/3rd of the branches having
been connected online and the offering of banking clearing services to the
customers. The meeting was informed that after the successful roll out of
Rs. 40,000 Premium Prize Bond (Registered), the Rs. 100,000 denomination bond
is on the cards. The launch of Shuhada Families Welfare Account and extension
of Behbud Saving Certificates for disabled persons is also coming up.
Furthermore the Overseas Pakistanis Savings Certificates and Shariah Compliant
Products are also being considered. DG National Savings
further informed that for customer facilitation, SMS Service, access through
social media and revamping of the institution’s website have been carried out.
He said that a complaint resolution cell has
been established at the DG’s Office which disposes of public complaints on
daily basis. Finance Minister appreciated the achievements made by the
National Savings in various areas particularly financial inclusion and customer
outreach.
He also
praised the performance of the institution for surpassing the annual savings
target. He assured his continued support to National Savings in achieving the
objective of greater financial inclusion.
Senior officials of the Ministry of Finance attended the meeting.
