The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) ordered banks to automatically credit 35 percent of the export revenues into the special foreign currency accounts of IT companies and freelancers in order to encourage them to bring their foreign exchange earnings into the nation.
When exporting software, information technology (IT) services, and IT-enabled services, the exporters must be registered with Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) or Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) (ITeS).
These guidelines are nevertheless valid through March 31, 2023. The incremental export performance of the IT sector and the realisation of export proceeds during this time shall be taken into consideration when reviewing these directives.
Banks have been advised to assist these exporters in opening their exporters’ special FCY accounts and for carrying out remittance transactions from their Exporters’ Special FCY retention accounts by issuing corporate debit cards, providing digital platforms including FX digital portal, after necessary due diligence and establishing mechanism for ongoing monitoring of permissible payments abroad to meet their business requirements.
Additionally, banks have been advised to establish a permanent help desk supervised by two officers not below the rank of Vice President to act as lead coordinators on behalf of the bank to resolve issues pertaining to account opening, retention in accounts, outward remittances, etc. All foreign exchange dealing branches should have relevant staff (FE Designated Officer) who have received the appropriate training.
The lead coordinators and designated officers at the Authorized Dealer branches’ names and contact information ought to be posted right away on the bank’s website.
