Karachi: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Sunday announced allowing resident tax filers to deposit foreign currency in local bank accounts after reports of a government issued Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) gave rise to confusion regarding the change in rules relating to the matter, a news source reported.
Initially, the government had issued the Foreign Currency Accounts Rules on October 6 under the Protection of Economic Reforms Act, 1992. The wording of the SRO, however, suggested that a ban has been placed on depositing foreign exchange purchased from open market into the FE-25 foreign currency accounts. The central bank issued the circular to clarify the notion.
As per the current rules in the Foreign Exchange Manual, the foreign currency accounts can be fed with remittances, travelers’ cheques issued from outside the country or securities issued by the government. A resident can now also deposit foreign currency in cash if he is a ‘tax filer’.
