The Government of Pakistan is about to launch a new Savings scheme for the overseas Pakistanis. The title of this new scheme is “Overseas Pakistani Savings Bills”. The Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan issued draft Rules in this regard on April 8, 2020.
According to the draft rules, Non-resident individual Pakistanis (NRIPs) having National Identify Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP), Pakistani Origin Card (POC) are eligible. Further, members of overseas Pakistanis foundation or an employee / official of federal or provincial government posted abroad are also eligible to invest in this scheme. Moreover, minors are also eligible to purchase these bills singly or jointly.
The new savings scheme will be launched under the umbrella of Central Directorate of National Savings (CDNS) which is an attached department of Ministry of Finance.
Features of the Scheme
This new savings scheme shall have conventional and shariah compliant version as well. The tenor of these bills will be 3, 6 or 12 months period. Further, the currency of issue these bills will be USD as well as PKR. The rate of return of these bill has not been specified yet.
These bills are neither transferable nor pledge-able with a financial institution as collateral. Zakat would not be deduction on these bills. However, tax will be deductible from the earned profit. Additionally, selected commercial banks will issue these bonds in scripless form. Furthermore, the new scheme is yet another initiative by GOP to attract investment from Pakistani nationals living aboard. If the response from overseas Pakistanis is overwhelming, this new savings scheme will prove to be beneficial in boosting Pakistan’s Forex reserves. Previously, the Government of Pakistan in coordination with SBP had launched a similar investment scheme called “Pakistan Banao Certificate (PBC)”. PBC has not been able to attract a large investment from overseas Pakistanis.
Know about other saving schemes here.
