3. All nomination papers will be taken up for scrutiny at ________________ hours on at________________ (place).

Name & Signature of Returning Officer

Place: ____________________ Date: ___________________

FORM-XX

[See Rule 89(4)]

VOTING PAPER FOR ELECTION OF VICE-PRESIDENT

Serial No.	Name of candidates for election of Vice-President	Put X for vote in front of candidate's name
1.
2.
3.
4.

Note: The reverse of this voting paper must be signed by the President Cantonment Board

-----------------------------------

RULES, 2015

DRUG REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF PAKISTAN ACCOUNTING PROCEDURE AND FINANCIAL RULES, 2015

[Gazette of Pakistan, Extraordinary, Part-II, 11^th March, 2015]

S.R.O. 213 (I)/2015, dated 9.3.2015.--In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 23 read with Section 19 and sub-section (2) of Section 22 of the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan Act, 2012 (XXI of 2012), the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan, with the prior approval of the Federal Government, is pleased to make the following rules, namely:--

1. Short title and commencement.--(1) These rules may be called the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan Accounting Procedure and Financial Rules, 2015.

(2) They shall come into force at once.

2. Definitions.--In these Rules, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,--

(a) “Act” means the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan Act, 2012 (XXI of 2012);

(b) “Authority” means the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan established under Section 3 of the Act;

(d) “Central Research Fund (CRF)” means the central research fund collected under clause (b) of sub-section (1) of Section 12 of the Drugs Act, 1976 (XXXI of 1976), and maintained by the Authority under Section 19 of the Act;

(e) “employee of the Authority” means an officer or official appointed under Section 14 of the Act and all employees of the Drug Control Administration, its sub-offices and its laboratories of the earstwhile Ministry of Health who opt to be included in the Authority under clause (b) of sub-section (5) of Section 15 of the Act;

(f) “Fund” means the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan Fund created under Section 19 of the Act; and

(g) “Policy Board” means the Policy Board of the Authority constituted under Section 9 of the Act.

3. General.--(1) The accounts of the Authority shall be maintained on double entry system in accordance with the generally accepted accounting principles.

(2) The financial statements of the Authority shall be prepared in accordance with the approved accounting standards as applicable in Pakistan and in the manner as prescribed in Annex-A.

(3) All financial transactions shall be recorded in the respective head of account as specified in the chart of accounts of the Authority in Annex-B.

(4) The Director Budget and Accounts may change or create new accounting code in the chart of accounts with description for any new account.

(5) In case, the Authority shifts to Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), the new chart of accounts may replace the existing chart of accounts, if required.

4. Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan Fund.--(1) The Fund which shall vest in the Authority.

(2) The Fund shall be utilized by the Authority to meet its expenses and charges properly incurred in connection with the carrying out of its functions and duties assigned or transferred to it under the Act, including but not limited to the payment of salaries and other remuneration to the CEO, Director, members of the different Boards, employees, experts, consultants and advisers of the Authority.

(3) The Fund shall be financed from the following sources namely:--

i. grant-in-aid in terms of salaries and retirement benefits of the existing staff to be provided by the Federal Government;

ii. donations and endowments;

iii. grants and loans by the Federal Government or a Provincial Government;

iv. loans and grants from the national and international agencies received by the Federal Government and Provincial Governments to finance the function of the Authority;

v. charges and fees collected by the Authority to recover the costs of regulated activities under the Act;

vi. proceeds of any investments made by the Authority;

vii. proceeds from any other service rendered by the Authority, including Inspection Services, foreign or local, or sale of any publication; and

viii. Central Research Fund collected from the pharmaceutical industry.

(4) Grant in aid from Federal Government shall be kept in Assignment Account lapsable on 30th June of every year. Assignment Account shall be operated as per procedure approved by Controller General of Accounts or Finance Division.

(5) Receipts from various sources shall be deposited in the designated bank accounts of the Authority.

(6) No person shall be authorized to receive cash on behalf of the Authority.

(7) Any demand draft, bank draft, pay order, cheque, etc. in the name of Authority shall be deposited forthwith in the designated bank account of the Authority.

(8) At the end of each financial year, the balance sheet shall be prepared and any un-spent remaining amount of the Fund shall be securely invested only in Government schemes in order to achieve self-sufficiency of the Authority.

(9) Assessment of the surplus funds and their investment shall be made in accordance with the mechanism given in the investment policy in Annex-C.

(10) All penalties and fines recovered by the Authority shall be credited to the Federal Consolidated Fund and not to the Fund of the Authority.

5. Budget.--(1) The Authority shall, in respect of each financial year prepare, on such date as may be determined, a statement of the estimated receipts and expenditure, including the revised and estimated budgets, requirements of grant-in-aid from Federal Government, and foreign exchange for the next financial year for consideration and approval of the Policy Board.

(2) The budget shall be prepared on incremental basis.

(3) Any foreign exchange requirements within the overall annual approved budget by the Policy Board shall be sent to Federal Government for appropriate provision and allocation.

(4) It shall not be necessary for the Authority to take prior approval from the Government to spend money from its own generated funds, and shall practice financial freedom as the Policy Board deem fit for furtherance of its functions.

(5) The budget shall be divided among the following cost or fund centers to ensure effective financial control:--

(i) Headquarters at Islamabad.

(ii) Federal Inspectorate of Drugs, Islamabad.

(iii) Central Drug Testing Laboratory, Karachi.

(iv) National Control Laboratory for Biologicals, Islamabad.

(v) Federal Drug Surveillance Laboratory, Islamabad.

(vi) Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan Sub-Office, Lahore.

(vii) Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan Sub-Office, Karachi.

(viii) Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan Sub-Office, Peshawar.

(ix) Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan Sub-Office, Quetta.

(x) Any other sub-office as approved by the Policy Board.

(6) The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) shall have the power to authorize expenditure provided for in the budget in accordance with the rules and regulations.

(7) The CEO shall have the power to re-appropriate funds within the approved budget.

(8) The CEO may delegate his powers to appropriate levels of management subject to such conditions as he may deem fit.

(9) The CEO shall not, except with the prior approval of the Policy Board in each case or unless already approved in the budget duly itemized, allow expenditure on items of civil works, or capital expenditure on office or laboratories equipments or automobiles.

6. Operation of bank accounts.--(1) Bank accounts of the Authority shall be opened with any scheduled bank or financial institution with the concurrence of Ministry of Finance.

(2) Bank accounts shall be operated by any two of the authorized signatories jointly among signatories authorized by the Authority.

(3) Subject to concurrence by the Ministry of Finance, Directors or Additional Directors at provincial capital offices and laboratories may also be authorized to open and operate bank accounts for official transactions with the approval of the Authority.

(4) The Directors or Additional Directors or Deputy Directors may be declared as DDOs. Bank accounts shall be jointly operated by the Director or Additional Director with another BPS 18 Officer and the Accounts Officer or Assistant Director (B & A) or Deputy Director (B & A).

(5) The two signatories authorized to operate the account should comprise of one officer each from the executive and from the Budget and Accounts Division. The powers of the Directors and Additional Directors shall be defined in the Authority's Delegation of Administrative and Financial Powers.

7. Expenditure.--(1) Financial concurrence prior to the sanction of the expenditure for carrying out functions of the Authority shall be obtained as prescribed in the Delegation of Administrative and Financial Powers.

(2) The expenditure shall be incurred against specific budgetary allocation and amount released.

(3) Re-appropriation of funds released in main account heads or sub-heads can only be made with the concurrence of the Chief Executive Officer.

(4) Items involving cost below the financial limit for petty purchases prescribed under the Public Procurement Rules, 2004 may be purchased without collecting quotations.

(5) The officer shall conduct proper market survey and collect spot quotations and purchase the items at lowest available rates.

(6) The officer making the purchases shall certify that the purchase was made at the lowest rates available in the market on the back of the bill.

(7) Expenditure on procurement of petty purchases as prescribed under the Public Procurement Rules, 2004 may be made through temporary advance to an officer of not less than BPS-17 or equivalent.

(8) For procurement exceeding financial limit for petty purchases as prescribed under the Public Procurement Rules, 2004 and up to financial limit approved by the Policy Board in accordance with the Public Procurement Rules, 2004, limited sealed quotations may be called.

(9) The quotations shall be opened by three officers including a representative of Budget and Accounts Division.

(10) A comparative statement shall be prepared and after approval of the competent authority an order shall be placed on the lowest bidder.

(11) Purchases exceeding financial limits approved by the Policy Board in accordance with the Public Procurement Rules, 2004, as per sub-rule (8), shall be made after inviting tenders or bids either through placing on the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority's website or through print media as prescribed under the Public Procurement Rules, 2004.

(12) The specification for items to be procured shall be generalized to allow the participation of maximum bidders. The Public Procurement Rules, 2004 rules shall be followed in all types of procurement cases.

8. Payments.--(1) All payments supported by Payment vouchers shall be made by a crossed cheque except the cash payments allowed under the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 (XLIX of 2001).

(2) Payment vouchers shall be properly filled in with voucher number, date, cheque number, name of payee, account head number, particulars of payment, bill number and amount in figures and words.

(3) Income tax at source shall be deducted in accordance with Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 (XLIX of 2001).

(4) For internal control, a voucher shall be prepared after cent percent checking of these supporting documents, and verification of all additions and subtraction in the bill.

(5) The voucher shall then be checked or audited by an officer and shall be validated by another officer.

(6) Cashier shall not be allowed to sign a voucher.

(7) All relevant documents including following shall be attached with the payment voucher for payment against supplies:--

(i) Original invoice or bill of the supplier.

(ii) Supply order.

(iii) Inspection report.

(iv) Store receipt note.

(v) Approval of the competent authority.

(8) Payment pertaining to Headquarter’s expenditures shall be made by the Budget and Accounts Division.

(9) Director (Admn, HR & Logistics) shall be provided an imprest advance for defraying petty, emergent and contingent expenditures at Headquarter in accordance with his financial powers.

(10) Additional Directors or Incharge sub-offices and laboratories may be provided imprest advance for defraying petty, emergent and contingent expenditures at sub-offices and laboratories in accordance with their financial powers.

(11) The limit of imprest shall be subject to review after one year on the basis of petty expenditures incurred. The actual amount of one year divided by 24 shall be fixed as imprest money.

(12) Once the payment has been made, the invoice or bill of the supplier shall be stamped as “PAID”.

(13) Payments of salaries shall be made on the basis of pay authority issued by the Budget and Accounts Division.

(14) Taxes, utility bills, rent etc. shall be paid on the basis of actual and on due date.

9. GP Fund and Retirement benefits of civil servants.--(1) GP Fund and retirement matters of all those employees of Drugs Control Administration who opt to continue in as civil servants shall be maintained by the office of Accountant General of Pakistan Revenues.

(2) Subscriptions deducted from salaries of the civil servants working in the Authority shall be deposited as per Federal Government Rules.

(3) Payments with respect to pension contribution of civil servants shall be made by the Authority as per Federal Government Rules.

10. Maintenance of General Provident Fund (GP Fund).--(1) GP Fund accounts of the employees shall be centrally maintained at the Authority Headquarters under the supervision of Trustees of the GP Fund.

(2) Trustees of the GP Fund shall be appointed by the Federal Government and at least two trustees shall be among the employees of the Authority.

(3) All GP Fund payments including advances shall be approved at the Headquarters level.

(4) For payments from the GP Fund, authority shall be issued to the concerned DDO for disbursement to the individual.

(5) A separate GP Fund bank account shall be operated at the Headquarters level.

(6) Contributions from employees shall be deposited in a separate bank account. GP Fund contributions of at sub-offices level staff shall be transferred to this account immediately after closing monthly account, if any.

(7) Expected receipts and payments shall be synchronized and available balances in the fund shall be invested in Government securities.

(8) Subscriptions to be deducted from salaries of employees of the Authority shall be equal to Federal Government employees and procedure with respect to advances from the GP Fund shall also be as per Federal Government Rules.

Explanation.--Since the terms and condition of service of all officers and staff employed in the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan, before the commencement of this Act shall not be varied to their disadvantage as provided in the Act, the Authority has to pay interest at the Government announced rates on the GP Fund balances of employees who opted to be included in the Authority.

11. Maintenance of Pension Endowment Fund.--(1) Employees of the Authority shall be entitled to pension or gratuity at par with the Federal Government employees.

(2) A separate fund shall be established for the purpose of pension of employees of the Authority and it shall be recognized under the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 (XLIX of 2001).

(3) Trustees of the fund shall be appointed by the Federal Government and at least two trustees shall be among the employees of the Authority.

(4) The Authority shall make regular appropriations from its resources on the basis of actuarial calculations and it shall be deposited in a separate bank account.

(5) Expected receipts and payments shall be synchronized and available balances in the fund shall be invested in Government securities. The interest income to the fund shall reduce financial burden on the Authority in terms of its contribution towards the fund on account of pension payments.

(6) At the time of retirement or death of an employee, a notification to this effect shall be issued by the HR Division at Headquarters. The concerned employee shall collect pension application from the retired person or entitled member of the family and prepare pension paper on the prescribed format and submit to the Director (Admn, HR & Logistics) at Headquarters.

(7) On receipt of the pension papers the HR Division shall scrutinize and refer the complete case to Budget and Accounts Division for audit and payment.

(8) The Budget and Accounts Division shall check or audit the pension claim with the relevant record and prepare audit report showing amount of gross pension commutation or gratuity and net pension. Calculation of gratuity, pension or commutation shall be made as per prescribed rules.

12. Benevolent Fund and Group Insurance.--(1) Subscriptions with respect to benevolent fund and group insurance shall be deducted from the pay of employees of the Authority and civil servants at the rates specified in the Federal Government Employees Benevolent Fund and Group Insurance Act and paid to the Board of Trustees on monthly basis.

(2) In case of non-gazetted officials insurance premia shall be paid by the Authority to the Board of Trustees of the fund as per Federal Government Rules.

13. Preparation of books of account.--(1) In accordance with the budgetary head of accounts, all payments shall be recorded in the ledger and subsidiary ledgers.

(2) The following books of accounts shall be maintained for accounting record:--

(i) General ledger including separate account for each bank account

(ii) Petty cash book

(3) The following subsidiary registers or records shall also be maintained:

(i) Separate pay order register or record for payment of salaries to officers and staff.

(ii) House rent subsidiary payment record register or record.

(iii) Indoor medical payments register.

(iv) Utility bill payment register or record showing period (month) amount, meter reading etc.

(v) Rent payments register or record.

(vi) Suppliers register or record.

(vii) Contingency payments register.

(viii) Repair and maintenance register with respect to each type of fixed asset, i.e. individual building and equipment wise etc.

(ix) Maintenance of vehicles shall be recorded in their respective logbook and invariably be audited after every two months.

(x) Assets register or record (non consumable items).

(xi) Stocks register or record (consumable items).

(xii) Investments register or record.

(xiii) Register for advances to employees.

(xiv) Register for advances to contractors/supplier.

(xv) Check books register.

(xvi) Bank credit vouchers record.

14. Deposit of Deductions.--(1) Income tax deducted at source shall be deposited in the Government treasury as prescribed under the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 (XLIX of 2001).

(2) The DDO shall ensure that income tax at source is deducted from all types of payments (if comes under taxable limits) in accordance with the rates prescribed in the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 (XLIX of 2001).

(3) Schedule of deductions from salaries showing name and designation of employee and detail of his each type of deduction including G.P. Fund, Benevolent Fund etc. shall be sent to the Budget and Accounts Division by 5th of every month.

(4) The amount against G.P. Fund contributions shall be deposited in the central General Provident Fund Account.

15. Writing of Bank Book and Cash Book.--(1) Entries in the bank book and cash book shall be made immediately on making of payments through cheque or cash respectively. These books shall be balanced daily and be written clearly without overwriting. However, in case an error occurs, the same shall be crossed by drawing a line and correct entry be made over dated signature of DDO.

(2) The bank book shall never go overdrawn.

(3) Cheques shall be issued only if there is sufficient bank balance as per bank book. The checking of cash book shall be done by an officer other than DDO on 3rd working day of every month or on the day of receipt of Bank Statement whichever is earlier.

(4) Bank balance as per ledger shall be reconciled with the bank statement on monthly basis and bank reconciliation statements shall be prepared by 5th working day of every month. Imprest amount shall be checked with cash book balance.

(5) The cash balances shall be kept in an iron safe. The iron safe shall have two keys one with the cashier and other with DDO so that opening of iron safe is permitted in their presence.

16. Safe Handling of Cheque Book.--(1) Crossed or “Accounts Payee Only” Cheque Book shall be received from the bank and entered in the Cheque Book receipt register by mentioning Sr. No…………….to Sr. No……………Safe custody of the Cheque Book is the responsibility of the concerned DDO and this shall be kept in the iron safe.

(2) Cheque on the basis of approved voucher shall be written by the Accounts Officer or Assistant Director (B & A) / Deputy Director (B & A) only.

17. Preparation and Submission of Cash Accounts.--Cash account shall be prepared in accordance with the budgetary release and chart of accounts showing main head of accounts, sub-heads and submit to Director Budget and Accounts at Headquarters on 5th working day of every month. The following documents must be attached with the cash account:--

(i) Statement showing both bank and cash opening balance less payment during the month and likewise closing balance.

(ii) Bank statement.

(iii) Bank reconciliation statement.

(iv) Outstanding temporary advances list. The list must show the names of the concerned official and date when advance was drawn.

(v) Outstanding TA and DA advances.

(vi) Original Vouchers.

18. Loans.--(1) Subject to availability of the Funds for this purpose and subject to such conditions as it may consider proper, the competent authority may grant any one or more of the following categories of loans to an employee or a civil servant or a Director appointed on regular basis having more than ten years service on his application in writing for the grant of such loan:--

(i) Loan for purchase of a motor car, motor cycle or scooter (maximum for 2 times in entire service).

(ii) Loan for purchase of a house, flat, apartment or for house building (maximum for 2 times in entire service).

(2) The terms and conditions and procedure for sanction and recovery of loans are laid down in annex-D.

19. Central Research Fund (CRF).--(1) In this rule:--

(i) “Committee” means the Committee of experts constituted under the Drugs (Research) Rules, 1978;

(ii) “Chairman” means the Chairman of the Committee;

(iii) “Member” means Member, permanent or co-opted of the Committee;

(iv) “Secretary” Means Secretary of the Committee; and

(v) “investigator” means a person engaged in the investigation, research, development or evaluation of a drug on his own initiative or under the sponsorship of any other person or an institution;

(vi) “recipient” means a person or an institution who or which receives aid from the Fund; “sponsor” means a person, firm, an establishment or institution promoting research on a drug.

(2) CRF shall be administrated and utilized on the advice or recommendation of the Committee for the following purposes and objectives:--

i. Conducting basic and operational research, development or evaluation of drugs either by the Authority itself or through a research institution working under its control or among investigators or institutions for such purposes subject to such conditions as may be specified;

ii. Post marketing surveillance, evaluation and monitoring of safety, efficacy and quality of registered drugs and inactive materials including the clinical and toxicological studies.

iii. to meet capital or recurring expenses of research proposals or projects and strengthening the existing facilities of drug research and development, duly recommended by the Committee and approved by the Authority.

iv. Establishing a technical unit in the Authority, for evaluation and monitoring of the Research proposals and development projects and management of CRF.

v. Establishment and upgradation of Drug Research and Testing Laboratories.

vi. Engagement of investigators and evaluators for research and research projects.

vii. Any other activity related to research, development and evaluation of drugs as may be recommended by the Committee.

(3) CRF bank account shall be operated by any two of the signatories jointly authorized by the Authority.

(4) The sources of CRF shall be as follows:--

(i) Contribution by the licensed pharmaceutical companies under clause (b) of sub-section (1) of Section 12 of the Drugs Act, 1976.

(ii) Donation and endowments.

(iii) Income accruing through investment or any other legitimate source.

(4) CRF shall be applicable throughout Pakistan. The Committee shall advise or recommend utilization and disbursement keeping in view the merits and feasibility of research and development projects and for any other purposes advised or recommended by the Committee having due regards to the objectives.

(5) Contribution to CRF may be deposited by the licensed pharmaceutical companies at a scheduled bank in designated account on the prescribed bank credit voucher.

(6) The Authority shall draw up estimates for head-wise expenditure to be incurred on research, development, evaluation of drugs and management or monitoring of CRF during a financial year. The budget shall be approved by the Policy Board of the Authority.

(7) (i) Receipts already realized and credited to the head of account '3501000-Civil Deposits' and Personal Ledger Account previously maintained vide AGPR, Islamabad Letter No. TM/10-21/PL(C)/Vol. XXVI/894 dated 19-09-1985 shall, after these are reconciled with the AGPR shall be transferred to bank account of CRF maintained by the Authority.

(ii) The Committee shall advise or recommend on the incurrence of expenditure from the Fund in the minutes of its meetings to be held from time to time. The process relating to the disbursement shall commence after approval of such minutes by the Authority. The funds shall be released to the quarter concerned on issue of proper financial sanction.

(iii) Budget and Accounts Division of the Authority shall be responsible to maintain accounts of CRF and keep up-to-date records of all the transactions made to or out of CRF in accordance with the rules or instructions applicable on the subject.

(iv) The accounts of CRF shall be maintained on double entry system in accordance with the generally accepted accounting principles.

(8) Surplus funds of CRF shall be invested in the Government securities as per investment policy placed at Annex-C.

(9) (i) In order to meet day to day requirements of expenses, the Secretary may have petty cash which shall be operated by using imprest system. At regular intervals the fund shall be recouped to the extent of shortfall between the sanctioned amount and balance in hand. The shortfall must be evidenced by duly authorized expenditure documents offset by legitimate cash receipts or vouchers.

(ii) Petty cash record shall contain the following details of payments:--

(a) Date of Payment

(b) Analysis of expense

(d) Payment reference

(e) Amount of payment

(f) Approval for reimbursement.

(iii) Petty cash flow shall record fully all receipts and contain of the source of all transfer.

(iv) The Secretary shall ensure that:--

(a) petty cash expenses are allocated correctly and are subject to review procedure in the same way as other cheques or payments; and

(b) reimbursements of petty cash accounts are supported by properly authorized proof of payment.

(v) In order to ensure proper recording of petty cash expenses, a petty cash voucher shall be prepared to which the necessary support shall be voucher shall be signed by the person receiving the payment. Each voucher shall then be recorded in the petty cash book.

(vi) All payments made out of petty cash shall be recorded in the petty cash book and analyzed there. Then, by means of a general entry, the various accounts shall be dedicated.

(vii) The necessary procedures for operating the imprest system shall include approval of the predetermined amount by the committee according to receipt of cash by the petty cashier, preparation of necessary vouchers for expenses and recoding of the same in the petty cash book.

(10) In order to ensure that there is no ambiguity regarding the nature of an item of expenditure, the Authority shall distinguish between capital expenditure and revenue expenditure.

Explanation 1:--Capital expenditure is the expenditure resulting in the acquisition of an assent (tangible or intangible) or which results in an increase in the earning capacity of CRF. If the benefits of expenditure are expected to accrue for a long time, the expenditure shall be classified as capital expenditure.

Explanation 2:-- Revenue expenditure is an item of expenditure whose benefit expires within the year of expenditure which merely seeks to maintain the activities of CRF or its assets in good working condition wages, fuel, utilizes, telephone, stationery etc.

(11) The closing date of the year-end of CRF shall be the 30th June each year.

(12) The Accounts of CRF shall be audited every year by the Auditor General of Pakistan.

(13) A copy of the Audit Report shall be sent to the Chairman of the Committee for the comments and remedial action.

(14) The Division of Budget and Accounts of the Authority shall carry out internal check and audit of accounts of CRF twice a year and submit report to the Chairman of the Committee.

(15) A statement of annual accounts of CRF together with the internal audit report thereon shall be submitted by the Chairman of the Committee to the Policy Board of the Authority after close of every financial year but before 30^th September of following year for onward submission to the concerned division of Federal Government.

20. Closing of Books.--(1) Books of Accounts shall be closed at the end of every month and cash accounts with specified statements shall be sent to Budget and Accounts Division by 5th of every month directly by the concerned Director or Additional Director.

(2) The Officers who are delegated the power of DDO by their Directors or Additional Directors shall also send a copy of the cash accounts to them for review and financial control.

21. Steps Involved in opening and operating of the DDO's Account at Provincial Capitals and Laboratories level.--(1) Request for Opening of the DDO's Account-- The concerned Directors or Additional Directors shall write to the Director (B & A) for opening of DDO's Account. They shall send the following documents with their request:

(i) Specimen signature in two groups- Group 'A' shall contain specimen signature of the Director or Additional Director, Group 'B' shall contain specimen signature of Assistant Director (B & A) or Accounts Officer.

(ii) Photo copies of CNIC of the signatories.

(iii) Address of the nearest bank Branch.

(2) Approval of the Director (B & A)--If request for opening of new bank account is agreed by Director (B & A) as per policy, he shall attest photo copies of the CNIC and specimen signature of the signatories and get approval from Chief Executive Officer. The approval of the Chief Executive Officer shall be conveyed to the concerned bank through a resolution for opening of the bank Account with intimation to the concerned Director or Additional Director.

(3) DDO's Subsidiary Bank Account.--For Provincial Office, DDO Account shall be opened in the same manner and shall also be operated jointly with at least one signatory from each group.

(4) Approval of Voucher.--Approval of vouchers shall be given as per delegation of Administrative and Financial Powers.

(5) Flow chart of the steps to open and operate DDO's account is as specified at Annex-E.

22. Capital and Revenue Expenditure.--(1) In order to ensure that there is no ambiguity regarding the nature of an item of expenditure, the Authority shall distinguish between capital expenditure and revenue expenditure.

(2) Capital expenditure is the expenditure resulting in the acquisition of an asset (tangible or intangible) or an item which results in an increase in the earning capacity of the Fund. If the benefits of expenditure are expected to accrue for a long time, the expenditure shall be classified as capital expenditure.

(3) Revenue expenditure is an item of expenditure whose benefit expires within the year of expenditure which merely seeks to maintain the activities of the Fund or its assets in good working condition wages, fuel, utilizes, telephone, stationery etc.

23. Internal Check and Audit.--Budget and Accounts Division of the Authority shall carry out internal check and audit of accounts twice a year and submit report to the Chairman of the Policy Board of the Authority.

24. Audit.--(1) The Authority shall cause to be carried out audit of its accounts by one or more auditors registered as chartered accountants within the meaning of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1961 (X of 1961).

(2) The Auditor General shall have the power to audit or cause to be audited the accounts of the Authority. A copy of the audit report shall be sent to the Federal Government along with the comments of the Authority.

(3) The Authority shall take the requisite steps for the rectification of any objection raised by the Auditor General of Pakistan.

Annexure-A

[see Rule 3(2)]

DRUG REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF PAKISTAN BALANCE SHEET

AS ON.________________

DESCRIPTION	AS ON	AS ON
	JUNE 30, B	JUNE 30, A
FUNDS AND LIABILITIES	……………….	……………….
Drug Regulatory Authority Fund	……………….	……………….
Excess of revenues over expenditure carried forward	……………….	……………….
G.P Fund	……………….	……………….
Pension Endowment Fund	……………….	……………….
Central Research Fund	……………….	……………….
LONG TERM LOANS	……………….	……………….
CURRENT LIABILITIES	……………….	……………….
Current portion of long terms loans	……………….	……………….
Creditors, accrued and other liabilities	……………….	……………….
Contingencies and commitments	……………….	……………….
TOTAL	……………….	……………….
ASSETS	……………….	……………….
LONG TERM ASSETS	……………….	……………….
Fixed Assets	……………….	……………….
Long term investments	……………….	……………….
Long term loans and advances	……………….	……………….
Long term deposits, pre-payments and deferred costs	……………….	……………….
CURRENT ASSETS	……………….	……………….
Stores and supplies	……………….	……………….
Fees/Income receivable	……………….	……………….
Advances, pre-payments and other receivables	……………….	……………….
Short term investments	……………….	……………….
Cash and bank balances	……………….	……………….
TOTAL	……………….	……………….

DRUG REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF PAKISTAN STATEMENT OF INCOME AND EXPENDITURE

FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, ________________

DESCRIPTION	YEAR ENDED	YEAR ENDED
	JUNE 30, B	JUNE 30, A
REVENUE	………………..	………………..
Grant in Aid by the Federal Government	………………..	………………..
Charges and fees collected	………………..	………………..
Contribution to the Central Research Fund	………………..	………………..
Grants from National/International Agencies	………………..	………………..
Proceeds on investments	………………..	………………..
Other/Miscellaneous	………………..	………………..
OPERATING EXPENDITURE	………………..	………………..
Salaries, Allowances and Benefits	………………..	………………..
Rent	………………..	………………..
Utilities	………………..	………………..
Communication	………………..	………………..
Travel	………………..	………………..
Meeting and Entertainment	………………..	………………..
Depreciation	………………..	………………..
Vehicle Running Expenses	………………..	………………..
Inspection Expenses	………………..	………………..
Consultancy and Services	………………..	………………..
Legal fee/Law charges	………………..	………………..
Advertising & Publicity	………………..	………………..
Financial Charges	………………..	………………..
Others	………………..	………………..
SURPLUS OF REVENUE OVER EXPENDITURE	………………..	………………..
Prior year(s) adjustment(s)	………………..	………………..
Surplus/(Deficit) after adjustment(s)	………………..	………………..
Provision for Taxes	………………..	………………..
NET SURPLUS (DEFICIT) AFTER TAX	………………..	………………..
(CARRIED TO STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN FUNDS)	………………..	………………..

DRUG REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF PAKISTAN CASH FLOW STATEMENT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, _________________

DESCRIPTION	YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, B	YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, A
CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES	……………….	……………….
Net surplus after tax	……………….	……………….
Adjustment for:	……………….	……………….
Depreciation	……………….	……………….
Amortization	……………….	……………….
Miscellaneous write offs and adjustments	……………….	……………….
WORKING CAPITAL CHANGES	……………….	……………….
Stores and spares	……………….	……………….
Fees/Income receivable	……………….	……………….
Loans, advances, deposits, pre-payments & other receivables	……………….	……………….
Creditors, accrued and other liabilities	……………….	……………….
NET CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES	……………….	……………….
CASH FLOW FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES	……………….	……………….
Fixed capital expenditure	……………….	……………….
Long term investments	……………….	……………….
NET CASH FLOW FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES	……………….	……………….
CASH FLOW FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES	……………….	……………….
Long term loans--borrowing	……………….	……………….
Long term loans--repayments	……………….	……………….
NET CASH FLOW FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES	……………….	……………….
NET INCREASE (DECREASE) IN CASH	……………….	……………….
CASH & CASH EQUIVALENT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR	……………….	……………….
CASH & CASH EQUIVALENT AT THE END OF THE YEAR	……………….	……………….

DRUG REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF PAKISTAN STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN FUNDS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30,_______________

	Drug regulatory Authority of Pakistan Fund	Pension Endowment Fund	GP Fund	Central Research Fund
Opening balance	…………….	…………….	…………….	…………….
Add: Surplus / receipts during the year	…………….	…………….	…………….	…………….
Transfer to/from appropriations	…………….	…………….	…………….	…………….
Investment income	…………….	…………….	…………….	…………….
Less: payments during the year	…………….	…………….	…………….	…………….
Closing balance	…………….	…………….	…………….	…………….

Annex-B

[see Rule 3(3)]

DRUG REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF PAKISTAN CHART OF ACCOUNTS

S#	Account	Description of Account Head	DEBIT	CREDIT
	Code		Amount in Rs.	Amount in Rs.
1.	10100	DRAP Fund	…………….	…………….
2.	10200	GP Fund	…………….	…………….
3.	10300	Benevolent Fund	…………….	…………….
4.	10400	Pension Endowment Fund	…………….	…………….
5.	10500	Central Research Fund	…………….	…………….
6.	20101	Loan from International Agencies	…………….	…………….
7.	20102	Loan from National Agencies	…………….	…………….
8.	20201	Salaries payable	…………….	…………….
9.	20202	Utility bills payable	…………….	…………….
10.	20203	Tax deducted at source	…………….	…………….
11.	20204	Taxes payable	…………….	…………….
12.	20205	Accrued expenses	…………….	…………….
13.	20206	Payable to suppliers	…………….	…………….
14.	30101	Land	…………….	…………….
15.	30102	Building	…………….	…………….
16.	30103	Computer and IT Equipment	…………….	…………….
17.	30104	Furniture and Fixture	…………….	…………….
18.	30105	Air-conditioners	…………….	…………….
19.	30106	Laboratory Equipment	…………….	…………….
20.	30107	Generators	…………….	…………….
21.	30108	Vehicles	…………….	…………….
22.	30109	Accumulated Depreciation	…………….	…………….
23.	30201	Softwares	…………….	…………….
24.	30202	Accumulated Amortization	…………….	…………….
25.	40101	Stocks (consumable items)	…………….	…………….
26.	40102	Stocks (Laboratory Chemicals and Glassware)	…………….	…………….
27.	40201	Advances to employee-House Building	…………….	…………….
28.	40202	Advances to employee-Car/M. cycle	…………….	…………….
29.	40203	Advances to employees- T.A/D.A	…………….	…………….
30.	40204	Advances to employees- Others	…………….	…………….
31.	40211	Advances to suppliers	…………….	…………….
32.	40301	Fees/Income recoverable	…………….	…………….
33.	40302	Accrued profit on investments	…………….	…………….
34.	40401	Cash in hand	…………….	…………….
35.	40501	Cash at Bank	…………….	…………….
36.	50101	Grant in aid by the Federal Government	…………….	…………….
37.	50102	Grant by the Provincial Governments	…………….	…………….
38.	50103	Grant by the International Agencies	…………….	…………….
39.	50104	Grant by National Agencies	…………….	…………….
40.	60101	Drug Manufacturing License fee	…………….	…………….
41.	60202	Drug Manufacturing License Renewal fee	…………….	…………….
42.	60203	Site verification and layout fee	…………….	…………….
43.	60204	Repacking	…………….	…………….
44.	60205	Drug Registration fee	…………….	…………….
45.	60206	Drug Registration renewal fee	…………….	…………….
46.	60207	Variance to Registration	…………….	…………….
47.	60208	Grant of Additional Pack (Price fixation)	…………….	…………….
48.	60209	Fee for Price Increase	…………….	…………….
49.	60210	Fee for Advertisement	…………….	…………….
50.	60211	Fee for application for price increase	…………….	…………….
51.	60212	Inspection services-International	…………….	…………….
52.	60213	Inspection services-National	…………….	…………….
53.	60214	Fee for clinical trials	…………….	…………….
54.	60215	Fee for appeal	…………….	…………….
55.	60216	Drug Import license fee	…………….	…………….
56.	60217	Testing fee-Central Drug Laboratory	…………….	…………….
57.	60218	Lot release fee/Testing fee-NCLB	…………….	…………….
58.	60219	Testing fee-Surveillance Laboratory	…………….	…………….
59.	60220	Fee for duplicate copy	…………….	…………….
60.	60221	Sale of publications	…………….	…………….
61.	60301	Miscellaneous application fee	…………….	…………….
62.	60501	Income on investments	…………….	…………….
63.	60601	Others	…………….	…………….
64.	70101	Pay of officers	…………….	…………….
65.	70102	Personal Pay	…………….	…………….
66.	70103	Qualification Pay	…………….	…………….
67.	70104	Basic pay of Staff	…………….	…………….
68.	70105	Special pay of staff	…………….	…………….
69.	70106	Senior post Allowance	…………….	…………….
70.	70107	House Rent Allowance	…………….	…………….
71.	70108	Conveyance Allowance	…………….	…………….
72.	70109	Washing Allowance	…………….	…………….
73.	70110	Dress Allowance	…………….	…………….
74.	70111	Qualification Allowance	…………….	…………….
75.	70112	Medical Allowance	…………….	…………….
76.	70113	Entertainment Allowance	…………….	…………….
77.	70114	Computer Allowance	…………….	…………….
78.	70115	Orderly Allowance	…………….	…………….
79.	70116	Over time	…………….	…………….
80.	70117	Honorarium	…………….	…………….
81.	70118	Deputation Allowance	…………….	…………….
82.	70119	Health Allowance	…………….	…………….
83.	70120	Monetization of Transport	…………….	…………….
84.	70121	Rent-Residential Buildings	…………….	…………….
85.	70122	Group Insurance Premia	…………….	…………….
86.	70123	Reimbursement of Medical Charges to Pensioners	…………….	…………….
87.	70124	Financial Assistance to the Families of Employees Who Expired during service	…………….	…………….
88.	70201	Meeting Expenses	…………….	…………….
89.	70202	Foreign inspection expenses	…………….	…………….
90.	70203	Local inspection expenses	…………….	…………….
91.	70204	P.O.L Charges, Staff Cars, Motor Cycles	…………….	…………….
92.	70205	Conveyance charges	…………….	…………….
93.	70206	CNG Charges	…………….	…………….
94.	70207	Training-Domestic	…………….	…………….
95.	70208	Traning-Foreign	…………….	…………….
96.	70209	Travelling Allowance	…………….	…………….
97.	70210	Rent-Office Buildings	…………….	…………….
98.	70211	Stationery	…………….	…………….
99.	70212	Printing & Publications	…………….	…………….
100.	70213	Conference/Seminar/Work Shops	…………….	…………….
101.	70214	Newspapers, Periodicals & Books	…………….	…………….
102.	70215	Uniform & Protective	…………….	…………….
103.	70216	Adverting and Publicity	…………….	…………….
104.	70217	Law Charges/Legal Fee	…………….	…………….
105.	70218	Payment to others for Services Rendered	…………….	…………….
106.	70219	Purchases of Drugs & Medicine	…………….	…………….
107.	70220	Other Stores-Computer Stationary	…………….	…………….
108.	70221	Others	…………….	…………….
109.	70222	Entertainment & Gifts	…………….	…………….
110.	70223	Laboratory Chemicals and Glassware-CDL	…………….	…………….
111.	70224	Laboratory Chemicals and Glassware-NCLB	…………….	…………….
112.	70225	Laboratory Chemicals and Glassware-Surveillance Lab	…………….	…………….
113.	80101	Interest on International Loans	…………….	…………….
114.	80102	Interest on local loans	…………….	…………….
115.	80103	Bank Charges	…………….	…………….

Annex-C

[see Rule 4 (9) and Rule 19 (9)]

INVESTMENT POLICY

1. OVER VIEW

The purpose of Investment Policy of Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (the Authority) would be to invest its surplus funds and to streamline the procedure for different heads of investment accounts. Investment Committee (IC) would be responsible for making recommendations regarding investments to the Policy Board of the Authority for its approval and thereafter supervise implementation of the decisions.

2. INVESTMENT SCOPE

The policy shall be applicable to all investment/divestments to be made by the Authority with reference to its surplus funds and the account of working capital.

3. INVESTMENT COMMITTEE

The Committee shall comprise of:

1. Chief Executive Officer, Chairman

2. Director Budget & Accounts, Convener

3. Director Costing & Pricing

4. FUNCTIONS OF COMMITTEE

1. To hold regular periodic meetings to review the investment requirements/opportunities.

2. To review legal implications and financial strategies.

3. To ensure timely collection of returns and reinvestments.

4. To maintain record of the committee proceedings.

5. To assess Working Capital requirement of the Authority.

6. To prepare comparative statement of rates of profit offered by different schemes of the National Savings and Government securities such as treasury bills, PIB's, etc. and make recommendation for long term investments of the surplus fund.

5. WORKING CAPITAL

Working capital limit of the Authority shall be worked out quarterly on the basis of estimated capital and revenue expenditures of the Authority for next three months.

6. INVESTMENT OF SURPLUS FUNDS

All surplus funds shall be worked out quarterly. Total funds available as reduced by the working capital limit shall be considered surplus and invested as follows:--

1. Surplus funds considered to be available for up to one year shall be invested in short term schemes of national savings /Government securities.

2. Surplus funds considered to be available for more than one year shall be invested in short term in schemes of National Savings, Government Securities/PIB's/treasury bills etc.

Annex-D

[see Rule 18(2)]

LOANS AND ADVANCES

1. Loans and advances.--Subject to availability of the funds for this purpose and subject to such conditions as it may consider proper, the competent authority may grant any one or more of the following categories of loans to an employee or a civil servant or a Director appointed on regular basis having more than 10 years service on his application in writing for the grant of such loan:--

i. Loans for purchase of a motor cycle/scooter / Motor Car (Maximum for two time in entire service).

ii. Loan for purchase of a house / flat / apartment or for house building advance (Maximum for two time in entire service).

2. Loan for purchase of a Motor Car/Motor Cycle/Scooter.--(1) Loan for purchase of motor car/motor cycle/scooter shall be admissible up to the following maximum limits:--

S.No.	Type of Adv.	Eligibility	Amount of Adv.
1.	Motor Cycle//Scooter Advance	On pay between Rs.75,000/- to Rs. 19,999/- p.m	Rs. 75,000/-
2.	Motor Car Advance.	On pay between Rs.75,000/- to Rs. 19,999/-p.m.a	Rs.450,000/-

Provided that loan for purchase of a motor car shall not be admissible to an employee or a civil servant below the level of an officer in BS-17 or equivalent thereof.

(2) Before payment of the amount of loan granted to an employee, the employee shall execute a letter of authority, authorizing the Authority to adjust, at any time, the balance of loan amount together with the mark up and surcharge from the dues, if any, payable to him including the amount payable to him as pension, gratuity or provident fund. He shall also submit two sureties acceptable to the Federal Government or the Authority, as the case may be, guaranteeing the repayment of the loan amount. The vehicle and the documents pertaining to the vehicle shall be examined by the Authority and approved by the Officer authorized in this behalf by the competent authority:

Provided that where the competent authority is satisfied that comprehensive insurance was not possible in respect of the said motor car/motor cycle/scooter, the condition of comprehensive insurance may be waived by it.

(3) At the time of drawing the advance the civil servant or employee would be required to execute an agreement in Form 1 of this Annexure and, on completing the purchase, he should further be required to execute a mortgage bond in Form-2 of this Annexture hypothecating the car to the President or the Authority, as the case may be, as security for the advance. The cost price of the car should be entered in the schedule of specification attached to the mortgage bond.

(4) In the case of advances drawn outside Pakistan a similar agreement and a personal security bond in the prescribed form will be executed at the time of drawing the advance and at the time of purchase respectively.

(5) Mark-up at interest rate allowed on G.P. Fund by the Government from time to time is charged on amount of loan sanctioned. Moreover, if any civil servant is not obtaining interest upon GPF, no mark-up is loan of any kind sanctioned to him. The DRAP may amend its rules accordingly.

(6) In case, an employee is/or becomes entitled to loan for purchase of motor car but has already availed himself of loan for purchase of motor cycle/scooter, then he may avail himself of loan for purchase of motor car only when he adjusts the loan taken for purchase of motor cycle/scooter in full with mark up accrued thereon.

(7) Loan for purchase of Motorcycle/Scooter/Motor Car is recoverable along-with mark-up (if due) in 60 equal monthly installments).

(8) In case of the employee leaving the service of the Authority, for any reason whatsoever, the balance of loan amount outstanding against him shall become payable forthwith.

3. (1) No advance shall exceed 36th months pay of a former superior service Government servant and 36 months pay of a former class IV Government servant.

(2) The amount of loan sanctioned for purchase of a house/flat/apartment shall be paid by the Authority to the employee concerned on production of a duly executed sale agreement and on an undertaking by the employee. The employee shall mortgage the said property with the Authority by an equitable mortgage deed within two months of the payment of loan, failing which he shall refund the full amount of loan with mark up.

(3) Advances for the construction of new houses may be drawn in two equal instalments. The first instalment will be paid on the production of documents establishing proprietary rights in the land and the second instalment will be paid only when the house reaches plinth level. Advances granted for reconstruction, purchase extension or renovation of houses may, however, be drawn in one instalment, provided all other conditions governing the execution and registration of mortgage deed, etc., are duly fulfilled and the Government / the Authority interest is fully secured. The repayment shall commence from the month immediately after the grant of the second instalment or six months after the drawal of the first instalment whichever is earlier. The repayment shall be completed in 10 years in the case of a former superior service Government servant and in 20 years in the case of a former class IV Government servant, provided that the age of the Government servant concerned at the time of repayment of first instalment is below 47 years in the former case and below 38 years in the latter case. In the case of those who would at the time of such repayment be attaining the age of 47 years or 38 years, the case may be, the number of instalments by which recovery is effected, shall be so regulated as to enable the recovery of the total amount advanced, including interest, possible before the date on which the civil servant or employee or Director would be reaching the age of 60 years.

Note 1.--The bills for the drawal of the advances when presented to audit should be accompanied be a certificate in the following form from the Controlling Officer in the case of gazetted officers and the drawing officer in respect of non-gazetted civil servants or employees.

Certified that Mr. ……………… who has been granted a House-Building Advance of Rs ………………… has produced documents stating proprietary right in the land on which the house is proposed to be build *satisfied me that the house has reached the plinth level.

Signature of Controlling / Drawing Officer.

*This portion may be deleted if the bill is drawn for the second instalment.

Note 2.--Utilization certificate shall be furnished in the following manner:--

(i) Where the house building advantage is drawn in instalments,--At the end of six months of each instalment.

(ii) Where full advance is drawn in one instalment.--At the end of one year from the drawal of advance.

(4) Mark-up at interest rate allowed on GP Fund of DRAP employees from time to time. Moreover, if any employee is not obtaining interest upon GPF, no mark-up is required to be paid by him on the amount of loan of any kind sanction to him. The DRAP may amend its rules accordingly.

(5) In case of the employee leaving the service of the Authority for any reason whatsoever, the balance of loan amount outstanding against him together with the amount of mark up shall become payable forthwith and the Authority shall, the agreed rate with monthly rests from the date of his leaving the service of the Authority till its full adjustment / repayment.

4. General Conditions.--Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein before contained, all loan grants shall be subject to the following conditions:--

(1) Loan under different provisions of this annexure may be granted simultaneously to an employee subject to the condition that the aggregate of the installments for repayment of the said loans and all other deductions under this annexure from the salary of the employee concerned shall not exceed 50% of his pay.

(2) In the case of those employees who become members of the provident fund trust, loans/advances may first be applied for under the regulations of that trust and they may get the loan under this annexure to the extent of the difference, if any, between the advance drawn under the provident fund trust regulations and the maximum limits prescribed in this chapter.

(3) In the case of those employees who are due to retire before the period over which the installments for repayment of loan are spread as per this annexure, the entitlement for such loan shall be reduced to such extent as may be fully repaid before his retirement.

(4) Loans shall be granted subject to allocation of funds by the Policy Board.

(5) Mark up and surcharge shall be calculated on the monthly diminishing balance of the loan and shall be recovered in monthly installments equal to the installments of principal amount, after the full recovery of the loan.

FORM I

[See Para 2 (3) of Annex-D]

FORM OF 'AGREEMENT TO BE' EXECUTED AT THE
TIME .OF DRAWING 'AN ADVANCE FOR THE
PURCHASE OF MOTOR VEHICLE

AN AGREEMENT made _____________ day of _____ one thousand nine hundred and ______ BETWEEN of (hereinafter called the Borrower, which expression shall include his legal representatives and assignees) of the one part and THE PRESIDENT of the other part WHEREAS the Borrower has under the provisions of the General Financial Rules (hereinafter referred to as the said Rule which expression shall include any amendments thereof for the time being in force) applied to the President for a loan of Rs _____________ for the purchases of a motor vehicle and President has agreed to lend the said amount to the Borrower on the terms and conditions hereinafter contained NOW IT IS HEREBY AGREED between the parties hereto that in consideration of the sum of Rs ________________paid by the President to the Borrower (the receipt of which the Borrower hereby acknowledges) the Borrower hereby agress with the President (1) to pay the President the said amount with interest calculated according to the said Rules by monthly deductions from his salary as provided for by the said Rules and hereby authorises the President to make such deductions and (2) within one month from the date of these presents to expend the full amount of the said loan in the purchase of a motor vehicle or if the actual price paid is less than the loan to repay the difference to the President forthwith and (3) to execute a document hypothecating the said motor vehicle to the President as security for the amount lent to the Borrower as aforesaid and interest in the form provided by the said Rules AND IT IS HEREBY LASTLY AGREED AND DECLARED that if the motor vehicle has not been purchased and hypothecated as aforesaid within one month from the date of these presents or if the Borrower within that period becomes insolvent or quits the service of Government or dies the whole amount of the loan and interest accrued thereon shall immediately become due and payable.

IN WITNESS whereof the Borrower has hereunto set his hand the day and year first before written.

Signed by the said
in the presence of

FORM 2

[See Para 2(3) of Annex-D]

THIS INDENTURE made this………….. day of……………..one thousand nine hundred and ……………….BETWEEN ………….(here-in after called “the Borrower” of the one part and the PRESIDENT of the other part,

WHEREAS the Borrower has applied/applied for and has been granted an advance of Rupees …………….. to purchase a Motor vehicle on the terms of Paragraph 255 or 262 of the General Financial Rules of the Federal Government (hereinafter referred to as “the said Rules” which expression shall include any amendment thereof or addition thereto for the time being in force) AND WHEREAS one of the conditions upon which the said advance has been/was granted to the Borrower is was that the Borrower will/would hypothecate the said Motor vehicle to the President as security for the amount lent to the Borrower AND WHEREAS the Borrower has purchased with or
partly with the amount so advanced as aforesaid the Motor
vehicle particulars whereof are set out in the Schedule hereunder written.

NOW THIS INDENTURE WITNESSETH that in pursuance of the said agreement and for the consideration aforesaid the Borrower doth hereby covenant to pay to the President the sum of Rs ………… aforesaid or the balance thereof remaining unpaid at the date of these presents by equal payments of Rs …………….. each on the first day of every month and will pay interest on the sum for the time being remaining due and owing calculated according to the said Rules and the Borrower doth agree that such payments may be recovered by monthly deductions from his salary in the manner provided by the said Rules, and further pursuance of the said agreement the Borrower doth hereby assign and transfer unto the President the Motor vehicle the particulars whereof are set out in the Schedule hereunto written by way of security for the said advance and the interest thereon as required by the said Rules.

And the Borrower doth hereby agree and declare that he has paid in full the purchase price of the said Motor vehicle and that the same is his absolute property and that he has not pledged and so long as any money remain payable to the President in respect of the paid advance will not sell, pledge or part with the property in or possession of the said Motor vehicle. PROVIDED ALWAYS and it is hereby agreed and declared that if any of the said installments of principal or interest shall not be paid or recovered in manner aforesaid within ten days after the same are due or if the Borrower shall die or at any time ceases to be in Government service or if the Borrower shall sell or pledge or part with the property in or possession of the said Motor vehicle or become insolvent or make any composition or arrangement with his creditors or if any person shall take proceedings in execution of any decree or judgment against the Borrower the whole of the said principal sum which shall then be remaining due and unpaid together with interest thereon calculated as aforesaid shall forthwith become payable AND IT IS HEREBY AGREED and declared that the President may on the happening of any of the events hereinbefore mentioned seize and take possession of the said Motor vehicle and either remain in possession thereof without removing the same or else may remove and sell the said Motor vehicle either by public auction or private contract and may out of the sale money retain the balance of the said advance than remaining unpaid and any interest due thereon calculated as aforesaid and all costs, charges, expenses and payment properly incurred or made in maintaining, detending or reausing his agents hereunder and shall pay over the surplus if any, to the Borrower, his executors, administrators or personal representative PROVIDED FURTHER that the aforesaid power of taking possession or sewing of the said Motor vehicle shall not prejudice the right of the President, to use the Borrower or his personal representatives for the said balance remaining due and interest or in the case of the Motor vehicle being sold the amount by which the net sale proceeds fall short of the amount owing AND the Borrower hereby further agrees that so long as any moneys are remaining due and owing to the President be, the Borrower will ensure and keep insured the said Motor vehicle against loss or damage by fire theft, or accident with an Insurance Company to be approved by the Accountant-General, concerned and will produce evidence to the satisfaction of the Accountant-General, that the Motor Insurance Company with whom the said Motor vehicle is insured have received notice that the President is interested in the Policy AND the Borrower hereby further agrees that he will not permit or suffer the said Motor vehicle to be destroyed or injured or to deteriorate in a degree than it would deteriorate by reasonable wear and tear thereof AND further that in the event of any damage or accident happening to the said Motor vehicle the Borrower will forthwith have the same repaired and made good.

IN WITNESS whereof the said ……………… (Borrower) hath hereunto set his hand the day and the year first above written.

THE SCHEDULE

Description of Motor vehicle.

Maker's Name.

Description.

No. of Cylinders.

Engine Number.

Chassis No. Cost price.

SIGNED by the Borrower,

in the presence of…………...

Annex-E

[See Rule 21 (5)]

FLOW CHART SHOWLNG STEPS INVOLVED IN OPENING AND OPERATION OF THE DDO's A/C AT PROVINCIAL CAPITALS/LABORATORY LEVEL

---------------------

(ii) “approved seed” means seed true to species as approved by the Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department;”;

(2) clauses (b), (c), (d), (f), (g), (h), (i), (j), (k), (l), (m), (n), (o), (p), (q), (r), (s),(t), and (u) shall be renumbered as clauses (iii), (iv), (vi), (xii), (xiii), (xv), (xvi), (xvii), (xviii), (xx), (xix), (xxi), (xxii), (xxiii), (xxiv), (xxvi), (xxviii), (xxx) and (xxxiii) respectively.

(3) Clause (e) shall be omitted.

(4) for clause (iii), renumbered as aforesaid, the following shall be substituted, namely:--

“(iii) “basic seed” means progeny of the pre-basic seed produced by any public sector or private sector organization and certified by the Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department;”;

(5) in clause (iv), renumbered as aforesaid, for the word “Agency”, the words “and Registration Department'“ shall be substituted;

(6) after clause (iv), renumbered and amended as aforesaid, the following new clauses shall be inserted, namely:--

“(v) “enlisted variety” means a variety enlisted by the Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department under Section 22-A;

(7) in clause (vi), renumbered as aforesaid, for the word “Agency”, the words “and Registration Department” shall be substituted;

(8) after clause (vi), renumbered as aforesaid, the following new clauses shall be inserted, namely:--

“(vii) “Federal Seed Committee” means Federal Seed Committee constituted under Section 221;

(viii) “genetically modified variety” means plant varieties which have been bred by genetic engineering involving molecular techniques that modify, recombine and transfer genes or segments of genetic material and includes recombinant deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) techniques that transfer genes or segments of genetic material between genotype and also apply to plant varieties derived from a living modified organism;

(ix) “horticulture nursery” means any grounds or premises on which nursery plants are propagated, grown or procured for resale and held for sale throughout the year;

(9) after clause (ix), inserted as aforesaid, the following clauses shall be inserted, namely:--

“(x) “hybrid” means (1) the first generation offspring of a cross between two individuals (plants) differing in one or more genes; (2) the progeny of a cross between species of the same genus or of different genera;

(xi) “misbranded seed” means a seed if--

(i) it is a substitute for, or resembles in a manner likely to deceive, another plant variety or hybrid of seed under the name of which it is sold, and is not plainly and conspicuously labelled so as to indicate its true nature;

(ii) it is falsely stated to be the product of any place or country;

(iii) it is sold by a name which belongs to another kind or plant variety or hybrid of seed;

(iv) false claims are made for it upon the label or otherwise;

(v) when sold in a package which has been sealed or prepared by, or at the instance of, the person engaged in seed business and which bears his name or address, the contents of each package are not conspicuously and correctly stated on the outside thereof within the limits of variability prescribed under this Act;

(vi) the package containing it or the label on the package, bears any statement, design or device regarding the quality or the kind or plant variety or hybrid of seed contained therein, which is false or misleading in any material particular or if the package is otherwise deceptive with respect to its contents;

(vii) it is not registered in the manner required by or under this Act;

(viii) its label contains any reference to registration other than registration number;

(ix) its label does not contain a warning or caution which may be necessary and sufficient, if complied with, to protect human, animal and plant life and health or to avoid serious prejudice to the environment;

(x) the package containing it or the label on the package bears the name of a fictitious individual or company as the dealer of the kind or plant variety or hybrid; or

(xi) it is not labelled in accordance with the requirements of this Act or the rules made thereunder;

(10) after clause (xiii), renumbered as aforesaid, the following new clauses shall be inserted, namely:--

“(xiv) “person” means any natural or legal entity and includes an association of persons, firm, partnership, society, group of persons, a public or private limited company, corporation, cooperative society or any other body corporate;”;

(11) in clause (xx), renumbered as aforesaid for the words and figure “National Registration Agency under Section 8”, the words and figure “Federal Seed Certification Department under Section 22-A” shall be substituted;

(12) for clause (xxiii), renumbered as aforesaid, the following shall be substituted, namely:--

“(xxiii) “seed” means any of the branded reproductive or vegetative propagating material of the plants of field crops, vegetable crops, fruits, spices, medicinal herbs, flowers, shrubs, forest trees, other plant species and mushroom spawn used for sowing or planting the genera or species prescribed by the Federal Government;”;

(13) after clause (XXIV), renumbered as aforesaid, the following new clause shall be inserted, namely:--

“(xxv) “seed business” means any commercial operation of seed involving production, processing, conditioning, packaging, distribution, import and export of seeds;

(14) After clause (xxvi), renumbered as aforesaid, the following new clause shall be inserted, namely:--

(xxvii) “seed dealer” means any person registered as seed dealer under this Act”;

(15) after clause (xxviii), renumbered as aforesaid, the following new clause shall be inserted, namely:--

“(xxix) “seed processing” means the process by which seeds and planting materials are dried, threshed, shelled, ginned or delinted (in cotton), cleaned, graded or treated;”

(16) in clauses (xxx), renumbered as aforesaid, the word “and”, occurring at the end shall be omitted;

(17) after clause (xxx), renumbered and amended as aforesaid, the following new clause shall be inserted, namely:--

“(xxxi) “terminator technology” means genetic modification that includes gene or gene sequences which restrict germination of the seed produced by the plant variety or hybrid during the next subsequent year of planting;”;

(18) after clause (xxxi), renumbered and inserted as aforesaid, the following new clause shall be inserted, namely:--

“(xxxii) “truthfully labelled seed” means seed of a registered variety or hybrid produced locally or imported and which conforms to standards as prescribed under the rules;”; and

(19) in clause (xxxiii), renumbered as aforesaid, for full stop at the end a semicolon and word “; and” shall be substituted and thereafter the following new clause shall be added, namely:--

“(xxxiv) “variety evaluation committee” means the committee constituted for evaluation of candidate crop varieties in the country as may be prescribed.”.

3. Amendment of Section 3, Act XXIX of 1976.--In the said Act, in Section 3, for the words “of Agriculture” the words “the Ministry concerned” shall be substituted.

4. Amendment of Section 5, Act XXIX of 1976.--In the said Act, in Section 5, for the word “Agency”, the words “and Registration Department” shall be substituted.

5. Amendment of Section 6, Act XXIX of 1976.--In the said Act, in Section 6, in the marginal note for the word “Agency” the words “and Registration Department” shall be substituted.

(1) in the marginal note, for the word “Agency”, the words “and Registration Department” shall be substituted;

(2) for the word “Agency”, the words “and Registration Department” shall be substituted;

(3) in clause (i), for the words and semicolon “seed Certification Officer; and”, the words and semicolon “persons engaged in the seed business;” shall be substituted; and

(4) in clause (j), for full stop at the end, a semicolon and the word “; and” shall be substituted and thereafter the following new clauses shall be added, namely:--

“(k) conduct pre-registration checking of varieties of both public and private sectors submitted for the purpose of--

(i) determining agronomic value regarding regional suitability for registration as a plant variety or hybrid evaluated by variety evaluation committee;

(ii) providing definitive botanical description of plant varieties; and

(iii) providing information on genetic suitability and adaptability of varieties;

(l) register seed varieties after conducting pre-registration checking under clause (k);

(m) publish a list of registered plant varieties;

(n) perform such other functions as the National Seed Council may entrust to it; and

(o) propose procedures for maintaining purity of the seed stock and conduct research in seed science and technology.”.

6. Omission of Sections 7 and 8, Act XXIX of 1976.--In the said Act, Sections 7 and 8 shall be omitted.

7. Amendment of Section 11, Act XXIX of 1976.--In the said Act, in Section 11,--

(1) in the marginal note, for the word “notified”, the word “plant” shall be substituted; and

(2) the existing provision shall be numbered as sub-section (1) of that section and after sub-section (1), numbered as aforesaid,--

(a) for clause (d), the following shall be substituted, namely:--

“(d) any other requirement as may be prescribed has been complied with.”; and

(b) after sub-section (1), numbered and amended as aforesaid, the following new sub-section shall be added, namely:--

“(2) No person shall sell, advertise or hold in stock for sale, seed of any plant variety or hybrid banned or not approved by the Federal Government or a Provincial Government.”.

8. Amendment of Sections 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19, Act XXIX of 1976.--In the said Act, in Sections 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19, for the word “Agency”, wherever occurring, the words “and Registration Department” shall be substituted.

9. Amendment of Section 20, Act XXIX of 1976.--In the said Act, in Section 20,--

(1) in sub-section (1) for the word “Agency”, the words “and Registration Department” shall be substituted;

(2) in sub-section (2), in clause (a), after the word “assistance”, the words “of law enforcement agency or district administration'“ shall be inserted; and

(3) sub-section (3) shall be omitted.

10. Amendment of Section 21, Act XXIX of 1976.--In the said Act, in Section 21, in sub-section (1), for the words “crop of any seed of any notified or enlisted variety”, the words “seed of any crop” shall be substituted.

11. Insertion of new Sections 22-A, 22-B, 22-C, 22-D, 22-E, 22-F, 22-G, 22-H, 22-I and 22-J, Act XXIX 1976.--In the said Act, after Section 22, the following new Sections shall be inserted, namely:--

“22-A. Registration or enlisting of plant variety or hybrid.--

(1) An application for registration of plant variety or hybrid shall be made in such form and be accompanied by such fee and shall contain such information as may be prescribed.

(2) Subject to the provisions of Section 22-E, the Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department may register or enlist, or refuse to register or enlist, a plant variety or hybrid as may be prescribed.

(3) The plant varieties or hybrids imported for general cultivation would be registered or enlisted by Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department on the basis of the results of multi-location trials for at least two crop seasons within Pakistan as may be prescribed.

(4) If at any time after registration of a plant variety or hybrid, the Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department is satisfied, either on a reference made to it by any person or organization in this behalf or otherwise, that the registration or enlisting granted by it has been obtained by misrepresentation or suppression of essential factor conditions of registration has been changed, then Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department may cancel registration or enlisting of the plant variety or hybrid in such manner as may be prescribed.

(5) For the purposes of this Act, a register of all registered or enlisted plant varieties or hybrids to be called National Register of Seeds shall be kept by Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department wherein all specifications, as may be prescribed, shall be maintained.

(6) The Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department shall, within such intervals and in such manner as it thinks appropriate, publish the national list of plant varieties or hybrids registered or enlisted during that interval.

22-B. Registration to do seed business.--(1) Any person may make application, on the form as may be prescribed, for registration of seed business in Pakistan.

(2) The application form, under sub-section (1), shall accompany such fee as may be prescribed.

(3) The Ministry, dealing with subject-matter of seed, after making such enquiry as may be prescribed, shall grant registration to the applicant specified under sub-section (1).

(4) Every registration granted under this Act shall remain valid for five years from the date of issue of the registration unless earlier suspended or cancelled.

(5) Every holder of the registration desirous to renew the registration shall, before the expiry of the registration period, make an application for renewal to the Director General, Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department together with such fee as may be prescribed.

(6) On receipt of application under sub-section (5) and a renewal prescribed, the Director General, Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department, may renew the registration for another period of five years.

(7) In case the application under sub-section (5) is made after the expiry of the registration, the registration may be renewed on payment of an additional fee of one thousand rupees for each month or part thereof, in addition to the fee for renewal of registration.

(8) The registration shall be deemed cancelled, if--

(a) the registration is not renewed within six months after the date of expiry of the registration; or

(b) the holder of the registration fails to do business for at least three years; or

22-C. Registration of seed dealer.--(1) No person shall sell crop seeds at any place except under the terms and conditions of dealership license granted to him under this Act.

(2) Provisional dealership license will be granted for one year without pre-condition of prescribed training.

(3) Any person having received prescribed training from the Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department may, for regular registration and grant of license under this Act, apply to Provincial Government on prescribed form accompanied by such fee as may be prescribed.

(4) The Provincial Government shall, after making such inquiry as may be necessary, grant registration to the applicant or otherwise decide the application within three months after its filing.

(5) Every licence issued under this Act shall unless earlier suspended or cancelled earlier, remain valid for three years from the date of its issue.

(6) Every holder of a licence desiring to renew the licence shall, before the expiry of licence, apply to the Provincial Government for renewal of the licence on payment of such fee as may be prescribed.

(7) On receipt of application and fee under sub-section (6), the Provincial Government, on the recommendation of the Regional Director, Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department, may renew the licence for another three years.

(8) Every seed dealer shall clearly display at his place of business the sale prices of different crop seeds held by him including the opening, and closing stocks on a daily basis.

(9) The licence of any seed dealer shall be liable to be cancelled if he is found to be in violation of any provision of this Act

22-D. Registration of seed processing units.--(1) No person shall maintain a seed processing unit unless such unit is registered by the Federal Government under this Act.

(2) The Federal Government shall register seed processing unit if it meets the specifications prescribed in terms of infrastructure, equipment and qualified man power.

(3) Every application for registration shall be made in such form and manner and accompanied by such fee as may be prescribed.

(4) The Federal Government may, after making such inquiry and subject to such conditions as it thinks fit, grant a certificate for maintaining a seed processing unit in such form as may be prescribed.

(5) Every seed processing unit shall furnish periodic returns in such form and at such time as may be prescribed.

(6) The registration shall be cancelled, if--

(a) it has been obtained by misrepresentation as to a material particular relating to the specification in terms of infrastructure, equipment and qualified man power; or

(b) the registration holder is found to be in violation of any provision of this Act or rules made thereunder.

22-E. Restrictions.--No person shall--

(a) conduct seed business in Pakistan unless such person is registered to do so under Sections 22-B, 22-C or Section 22-D;

(b) import, sell, stock or exhibit for sale, barter or otherwise supply any seed of any variety or hybrid which is not registered or enlisted under this Act for cultivation in Pakistan; or

22-F. Establishment of seed testing laboratories.--The Federal Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, allow accredited seed laboratories in the public and private sectors to carry out analysis of seed of any kind or plant variety or hybrid under this Act in such manner as may be prescribed.

22-G. Registration of genetically modified plant varieties.--Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, no registration of genetically modified plant variety or hybrid shall be made, if the application for registration does not accompany--

(a) an affidavit from the applicant declaring that such variety does not contain any gene or gene sequence involving terminator technology;

(b) a certificate from the National Biosafety Committee established by the Federal Government to the effect that the traits of genetically modified variety or hybrid shall have no adverse effect on the environment, human, animal or plant life and health; and

22-H. Horticulture nurseries to be registered.--(1) No person shall conduct or carry on the business of horticulture nursery unless such nursery is registered with the Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department in consultation with Provincial Government.

(2) Every application for registration under sub-section (1) shall be made in such form and contain such particulars and shall be accompanied by such fee as may be prescribed.

22-I. Federal Seed Committee.--The Federal Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, constitute the Federal Seed Committee consisting of a Chairman and members representing the Federal Government and Provincial Agriculture Departments, Public and Private seed sectors, progressive farmers and any experts to perform such functions as may be prescribed.

22-J. Variety Evaluation Committee.--The Federal Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, constitute the Variety Evaluation Committee to evaluate candidate lines, cultivars and varieties of public and private sectors and imported seed material, for diseases and agronomic values of all fields and horticulture crops as prescribed.”.

12. Substitution of Section 23, Act XXIX of 1976.--In the said Act, for Section 23 the following shall be substituted, namely:-

“23. Offences and penalties.--Whoever--

(a) contravenes any provision or any rule under this Act; or

(b) imports, sells, holds in stocks or exhibits for sale or barter or otherwise supply any seed of any kind or plant variety or hybrid deemed to be misbranded; or

(c) imports, sells, holds in stock or exhibits for sale or barter or otherwise supply any seed of any kind or plant variety or hybrid which is not a registered or enlisted plant variety or hybrid; or

(d) prevents a Seed Certification Officer or a Seed Inspector from taking a sample or inspecting seed under this Act; or

(e) Prevents any official from exercising any power conferred on him by or under this Act, shall be punishable,--

(i) for the first offence, with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months or with fine not exceeding two hundred thousand rupees; and

ACT NO. XI OF 2015

CREDIT BUREAUS ACT, 2015

A Bill to provide for the incorporation and functioning of credit bureaus and to provide for matters connected therewith and incidental thereto

[Gazette of Pakistan, Extraordinary, Part-I, 25^th August, 2015]

No. F. 22(4)/2014-Legis., dated 24.8.2015.--The following Act of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) received the assent of the President on the 19th August, 2015 and is hereby published for general information:-

WHEREAS it is expedient to provide for the incorporation and functioning of credit bureaus for collecting credit information relating to debtors of banks, financial institutions, non-banking financial institutions, non-financial companies and other lenders or authorities and maintain data of such information and also for the provision to disseminate such information, on request, for specified purposes with a view to facilitating efficient distribution of credit and for matters connected therewith and incidental thereto;

It is hereby enacted as follows:--

PART-I

PRELIMINARY

1. Short title, extent and commencement.--(1) This Act may be called the Credit Bureaus Act, 2015.

(2) It extends to the whole of Pakistan.

(3) It shall come into force at once on such dates as the Federal Government may, by notification in the official Gazette appoint.

2. Definitions.--(1) In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,--

(a) “adverse action” means any action which causes a denial, rejection, cancellation of or reduction in or otherwise any unfavourable result in any transaction involving credit, finance, trade, commerce or employment with respect to a debtor;

(b) “banking” means the accepting, for the purposes of lending or investment, of deposit of money from the public, repayable on demand or otherwise, and withdrawable by cheque, draft, order or otherwise;

(d) “banking policy” means any policy formulated by the State Bank of Pakistan in the interest of banking or in the interest of monetary stability or sound economic growth, having due regard to the interest of the depositors, the volume of deposits and other resources of the bank and the need for equitable allocation and the efficient use of these deposits and resources;

(e) “companies Ordinance” means the Companies Ordinance, 1984 (XLVII of 1984);

(f) “company” means a company incorporated under the Companies Ordinance;

(g) “Court” means the Court of sessions having territorial jurisdiction in the area where the cause of action arises or offences committed under this Act;

(h) “credit bureau” means a public limited company established under the Companies Ordinance which has been granted a licence by the State Bank of Pakistan in accordance with this Act;

(i) “credit information” means any information with respect to a debtor relating to--

(i) the amounts, nature of loans or advances, finance and other credit facilities granted by a credit institution and repayment thereof by the debtor and the nature of security taken by a credit institution for credit facilities granted;

(ii) the guarantee or any other non-fund based facility furnished by a credit institution for the benefit thereof;

(iii) the amounts and nature of commercial transactions, facilities and services entered into or availed of credit from non-financial companies and bodies and other lenders and authorities including but not limited to retailers, insurance companies, utility providers and landlords as notified by the Federal Government;

(iv) any and all factors included in the financial history bearing on the credit worthiness, credit standing and credit capacity thereof;

(v) any other related public record and information as prescribed by rules; or

(vi) personal information as prescribed by rules;

(j) “credit information furnisher” means any credit institution, person or entity which provides credit information to a credit bureau including non-financial companies and bodies and other lenders and authorities;

(k) “credit information report” means any written or electronic communication issued by a credit bureau containing credit information relating to any debtor for the purposes of this Act;

(l) “credit institution” includes --

(i) a banking company;

(ii) microfinance banks;

(iii) a financial institution, which means:

(a) any company, whether incorporated within or outside Pakistan, which transacts business of banking or any associated or ancillary business in Pakistan through its branches within or outside Pakistan and includes a government savings bank but excludes the State Bank of Pakistan;

(b) a modaraba, leasing company, investment bank, financing company, unit trust or mutual fund of any kind and credit or investment institution, corporation or company; and

(iv) non-banking financial company; and

(v) any company, corporation or institution or class of companies or institutions as the Federal Government may from time to time, by notification in the official Gazette, specify for the purpose;

(m) “credit scoring” means a system whereby points are awarded to debtors enabling users to asses the credit worthiness and capacity of debtors to repay loans and advances and to discharge any and all other obligations with regard to credit facility availed of or to be availed of by the debtors;

(n) “debtor” means a person to whom finance as defined in the Financial Institutions (Recovery of Finances) Ordinance, 2001 (XLVI of 2001) has been provided, including those who have been credit recipients and who are potential recipients of credit as notified by the Federal Government;

(o) “default” includes omission or failure to perform a legal or contractual obligation involving credit;

(p) “licence” means the licence issued by the State Bank of Pakistan to a public limited company for the purpose of functioning as, and carrying out the business of, a credit bureau in accordance with the provisions of this Act;

(q) “person” means an individual, association or body of individuals, company, firm, authority, institution or any other entity;

(r) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules or regulations made under this Act;

(s) “regulations” means regulations made under this Act;

(t) “rules” means rules made under this Act;

(u) “Schedule” means a Schedule to this Act; and

(v) “user” means any person or body which obtains a credit information report from a credit bureau under this Act.

(2) The words and expressions used and not defined in this Act shall have the meanings as assigned to them in the Companies Ordinance, 1984 (XLVII of 1984), State Bank of Pakistan Act, 1956 (XXXIII of 1956) and Banking Companies Ordinance, 1962 (LVII of 1962).

3. Application of other laws not barred.--The provisions of this Act shall be in addition to, and not, save as herein after expressly provided, in derogation of, the Companies Ordinance, 1984 (XLVII of 1984), the Banking Companies Ordinance, 1962 (LVII of 1962) or any other law for the time being in force.

PART II

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CREDIT BUREAU AND ITS CAPITAL

4. Licence.--Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force and save as hereinafter provided, no person shall commence or carry on business of or function as a credit bureau without obtaining a licence from the State Bank of Pakistan in the manner prescribed by regulations.

5. Eligibility for licensing.--(1) A person proposing to commence business as a credit bureau shall be eligible for licence under this Act subject to the following conditions or requirements, namely:--

(a) such person is incorporated as a public limited company under the Companies Ordinance;

(b) none of the promoters, sponsors, directors, officers or employees of such company being an individual, sponsor, director, chief executive or major shareholder in any company,--

(i) has been associated with any illegal banking business;

(ii) has overdue loan against any credit institutions that has not been settled with in last six months;

(iii) has been convicted of any offence involving fraud, breach of trust or moral turpitude;

(iv) has defaulted on payment of taxes and liabilities towards other government agencies; and

(v) has either been adjudicated as insolvent or has defaulted in payment of debt or has compounded with his creditors;

(c) the promoters of such company are persons of means and have special knowledge of matters which the company may have to deal with as a credit bureau and are not involved in the capacity of a director or shareholder with any company, business or activity which is likely to be in conflict with the business of the credit bureau; and

(d) none of the directors of such company shall hold such office with any other company, business or activity which is likely to be in conflict with the business of the credit bureau.

Explanation.--A company, business or activity shall be deemed to be in conflict with the business of the credit bureau, if it directly or indirectly competes with the business of credit information bureaus including but not limited to another credit bureau and financial institution.

(2) Without prejudice to the conditions specified in sub-section (1), the State Bank of Pakistan may impose such additional conditions as it may deem necessary on any company at the time of granting the licence or generally by regulations.

(3) The State Bank of Pakistan may refuse to grant licence, provided that--

(a) any of the conditions imposed under this section is not fulfilled; or

(b) the application for a licence has been made subsequent to the issuance of a notification regarding suspension of issuance of licences generally:

Provided that grant of licence shall not be refused without giving an opportunity of being heard.

6. Paid up capital.--The minimum paid up capital of a credit bureau shall be a minimum of PKR 250,000,000 or as may be prescribed by the State Bank of Pakistan from time to time but not less than 250,000,000/- should be fully subscribed and deposited as paid up capital of the company.

7. Shareholding.--(1) No person shall acquire more than ten percent shares of a credit bureau either directly or indirectly, except with prior written approval of the State Bank of Pakistan.

(2) Anyone who knowingly contravenes the provisions of sub-section (1) shall be punishable with a fine not exceeding one million rupees.

8. Credit bureau in existence prior to the commencement of this Act.--(1) Every person conducting the business of a credit bureau on commencement of this Act, other than the credit information bureau of the State Bank of Pakistan, shall before the expiry of the twelve months from such commencement, apply in writing to the State Bank of Pakistan for obtaining a licence to continue to carry on business of a credit bureau.

(2) In the event that the application for the grant of licence made by a person conducting business of a credit bureau on commencement of this Act is refused by the State Bank of Pakistan, such person shall cease operations as a credit bureau within such period as specified in the decision. The credit information collected, collated, stored and maintained by such person may not be sold to any entity other than a credit bureau and if the same is not sold to a credit bureau, for whatever reason, it shall be surrendered to the State Bank of Pakistan.

9. Power to suspend or cancel licence.--The State Bank of Pakistan may suspend or cancel a licence, if a credit bureau--

(a) ceases to carry on business of a credit bureau in Pakistan;

(b) fails to comply with or contravenes any provision of this Act or any conditions subject to which the licence was granted to it or any other law for the time being in force or fails to comply with or contravenes any rules or regulations, directions, guidelines or instructions issued under this Act:

Provided that no licence shall be suspended or cancelled without affording an opportunity to be heard.

PART III

REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE CREDIT INFORMATION

10. Credit information furnishers to provide credit information.--Notwithstanding anything contrary to any other law for the time being in force or in any agreement entered into between a credit information furnisher and its debtor, credit information furnishers shall provide credit information to credit bureaus, provided that such credit information furnisher is a member of the credit bureau, to which credit information is being provided.

11. Membership of credit bureaus.--(1) Every credit institution shall become a member of at least one credit bureau with in a period as may be prescribed by regulations. The membership of other credit information furnisher, other than credit institution, to become a member of credit bureaus shall be notified by the Federal Government accordingly.

(2) All credit information furnishers upon membership of a credit bureau shall furnish credit information in accordance with the requirements and specifications.

(3) In case of termination of membership, the credit institution shall obtain membership of any other credit bureau either before termination or simultaneously to comply with sub-section (1).

(4) In case of failure to comply with quality standards and procedural requirements specified by credit bureaus, the membership of credit information furnisher either by the credit bureau on its own motion or at the direction of the State Bank of Pakistan may be suspended or cancelled, provided that an opportunity to show cause for the proposed action is given.

(5) Where a credit institution:

(a) abstains from becoming a member of at least one credit bureau; or

(b) at any time is not a member of any credit bureau--

such credit institution shall be liable to a fine not exceeding one million rupees and, where the contravention is a continuing one, with a further fine which may extend to fifty thousand rupees for every day during which the violation continues, provided that no penalty may be imposed by the State Bank of Pakistan without affording such credit institution an opportunity to show cause against the proposed imposition of penalty.

PART IV

AUDIT

12. Accounts and balance sheet.--Every credit bureau shall on expiration of each calendar year prepare a balance sheet and profit and loss account in respect of all business transacted in that year by it.

13. Audit.--(1) The accounts of credit bureaus shall be audited by auditors who are chartered accountants within the meaning of Chartered Accountants Ordinance, 1961 (X of 1961) and are on the panel of auditors maintained by the State Bank of Pakistan for the purposes of audit of banking companies.

(2) Credit bureaus shall submit duly audited accounts to the State Bank of Pakistan within a period not exceeding three months of the date of closing of each calendar year.

PART V

POWERS OF THE STATE BANK OF PAKISTAN

14. Powers of the State Bank of Pakistan to give directions.--(1) Where the State Bank of Pakistan is satisfied that it is necessary and expedient so to do--

(a) in the public interest; or

(b) in the interest of banking policy; or

(c) in the interest of the credit system, credit bureaus, credit information furnishers, users and debtors in general or to prevent the affairs of a credit bureau being conducted in a manner detrimental or prejudicial to the interests thereof; or

(d) to secure the proper management of credit bureaus generally,--

it may formulate the policies, issue regulations, directions or guidelines to credit bureaus generally or to a credit bureau in particular, from time to time, as it deems fit and the credit bureau or all the credit bureaus, as the case may be, shall be bound to comply with such policy, directions and guidelines.

(2) The State Bank of Pakistan may, on representation made to it or on its own motion, modify or cancel any regulations, guidelines or direction issued under sub-section (1) and in so modifying or canceling any direction may impose such conditions as it deems fit, subject to which the modification or cancellation shall have effect.

15. Power of the State Bank of Pakistan to call for information.--(1) The State Bank of Pakistan shall have the power and authority to call for any information from a credit bureau regarding its business and affairs and to appoint inspecting officers to inspect its books, data, accounts, record and other documents.

(2) It shall be duty of every director, officer or employee of credit bureaus to produce all such books, data, accounts, record and other documents in his custody or power to an inspecting officer appointed under sub-section (1) and furnish to such inspecting officer any statement and information relating to the affairs of the credit bureau.

(3) An inspecting officer appointed under sub-section (1) may examine on oath any director, officer or employee of a credit bureau in relation to its business and may administer an oath accordingly.

(4) Any credit information report issued by a credit bureau shall be verified by the State Bank of Pakistan and no credit information report shall be valid unless verified by the State Bank of Pakistan.

16. Power of the State Bank of Pakistan to remove directors or other managerial persons from office.--(1) Where the State Bank of Pakistan is satisfied that any chairman, director, chief executive or any officer, by whatever name called, of a credit bureau, has been, or is likely to be, in breach of the provisions of this Act or rules or regulations made thereunder or any policy, directions or guidelines issued thereunder, it may, for reasons to be recorded in writing, remove from office, with effect from such date as may be specified in the order, or may hold the same liable to a fine not exceeding five million rupees:

Provided that no order under this sub-section shall be made unless concerned person has been given a reasonable opportunity of being heard against the proposed action and that concerned person has failed to provide an explanation to the satisfaction of the State Bank of Pakistan within the time frame specified. In the event of issuance of an order of removal, the chairman, director, chief executive and officer so removed shall vacate their office on the date specified in the order and the vacancy so created shall be filled in accordance with the Companies Ordinance.

(2) Where the State Bank of Pakistan is satisfied that the board of directors of any credit bureau is, or is likely to be, detrimental to the interest of such credit bureau, its shareholders or the public interest or the interest of the credit information system in general or for securing proper management of such credit bureau, it is necessary so to do, it may for reasons to be recorded in writing, supersede the board of directors of the credit bureau for such period as may be specified in the order or extended subsequently, however, the total period shall not exceed twelve months:

Provided that no order under this sub-section shall be made unless the concerned credit bureau has been given a reasonable opportunity of being heard against the proposed supersession and that bureau has not provided an explanation to the satisfaction of the State Bank of Pakistan within the time frame specified. In the event of the issuance of an order of supersession under this sub-section, the board of directors, including the chairman, chief executive and directors, by whatever name called, shall vacate their offices on the date specified in the order.

(3) Upon making of an order of supersession under sub-section (2),--

(a) the State Bank of Pakistan may appoint an administrator and shall issue such directions to the appointed administrator as it deems fit and appropriate and the administrator shall be bound to follow the issued directions; and

(b) all powers, functions and duties, which may under the provisions of the Companies Ordinance or this Act or any other law for the time being in force or by resolution passed in a general meeting of such credit bureau, be exercised or discharged by or on behalf of the board of directors of such credit bureau until the reconstitution of the board of directors under sub-section (5) shall be exercised and discharged by the administrator appointed by the State Bank of Pakistan.

(4) The salary payable to the administrator and any staff assisting the administrator shall be fixed by the State Bank of Pakistan and shall be borne by the credit bureau.

(5) On or before the expiration of two months prior to the expiry of the period of supersession specified in the order of the State Bank of Pakistan issued under sub-section (3), the administrator shall call a general meeting of the credit bureau to elect new directors and to reconstitute its board of directors.

(6) No person removed from his office under the order of the State Bank of Pakistan shall be entitled to any claim or compensation.

17. Powers of the State Bank of Pakistan to appoint auditors for special audit.--(1) Where the State Bank of Pakistan is satisfied that it is necessary and expedient to do so in the public interest or in the interest of the credit system, credit bureaus, credit information furnishers, users or the debtors, it may, at any time, direct by written notice that a special audit of a credit bureau shall be conducted and the State Bank of Pakistan may by such notice or by a separate notice appoint auditors to conduct such special audit of--

(a) the accounts of the credit bureau in relation to any transaction or class of transactions or for such period or periods as may be mentioned in the notice; and

(b) where the credit bureau has not complied with the requirements for audit under sub-section (3) of Section 24 or where the State Bank of Pakistan deems that such an audit is required, it may appoint the auditors who shall comply with such notice and directions of the State Bank of Pakistan and submit a report of such audit to the State Bank of Pakistan.

(2) The State Bank of Pakistan may issue directions in particular or in general with respect to the audit of credit bureaus conducted in accordance with this Act and submission of reports thereof.

(3) The remuneration of the auditors appointed under sub-section (1) shall be fixed by the State Bank of Pakistan with due consideration to the nature and volume of work involved in the audit and the expenses of, or incidental to, the audit shall be borne by the credit bureau with respect to which the audit is conducted.

PART VI

FUNCTIONS OF A CREDIT BUREAU

18. Functions which a credit bureau may transact.--(1) A credit bureau, in accordance with the provisions of this Act and rules made thereunder, may--

(a) collect, process, collate, store and maintain credit information relating to debtors;

(b) provide credit information reports to users and other credit bureaus;

(d) consolidate and utilize credit information for purposes of supplying statistics, analysis and conducting research, provided that the identity of the concerned debtor or the credit information furnisher is not disclosed in any manner;

(e) undertake any other form of business which may be prescribed by regulations.

(2) No credit bureau shall engage in any form of business other than those provided under sub-section (1).

PART VII

PROTECTION OF CONSUMER

19. Permissible purposes and uses of credit information reports.--(1) A credit bureau may furnish credit information collected, processed, collated, stored and maintained, in accordance with the provisions of this Act and rules made thereunder in the form of a credit information report, under the following circumstances, namely:--

(a) on written or electronically received request of a credit institution;

(b) on written or electronic request or instructions of the debtor, to whom it relates, received from such debtor or through a duly constituted attorney thereof;

(c) on written or electronically received request from Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan to assist them in discharging their regulatory obligations;

(d) in compliance with an order of a competent Court having jurisdiction to issue such order; and

(e) for any other purpose, which may be prescribed by regulations.

(2) A credit bureau may not furnish a credit information report provided reasonable grounds are available to believe that the same will not be used for purposes specified under sub-section (1).

(3) No credit bureau shall maintain its data base at a place outside Pakistan without prior permission in writing of the State Bank of Pakistan.

(4) In the event of winding up, dissolution, liquidation or bankruptcy of a credit bureau or in case of termination of licence, such credit bureau shall immediately cease all such functions and operations. The credit information collected, collated, processed, stored and maintained by such credit bureau may be sold to any other credit bureau or the same shall be surrendered to the State Bank of Pakistan.

20. Contents of credit information report.--(1) A credit information report issued by a credit bureau in accordance with the provisions of this Act shall only contain credit information as prescribed and shall not contain any information or data relating to a debtor that is not relevant for the purposes of evaluating or assessing the credit worthiness of such debtor.

(2) Personal information contained in a credit information report relating to an individual debtor shall be limited to such items as may be prescribed by regulations.

21. Prohibition of collection of credit information.--No credit bureau shall collect credit information which--

(a) violates any law for the time being in force; or

(b) intrudes upon, to an unreasonable extent, personal affairs of the individual concerned.

22. Deletion of information from credit information report.--No credit bureau shall include information of default or overdue with respect to any obligation involving credit, where the date on which the default or overdue has been settled antedates the credit information report by the number of years as may be prescribed by rules.

23. Disclosure of source of credit information.--(1) Every credit bureau, upon request and payment of fee prescribed by regulations shall disclose to a debtor, clearly and accurately, the source of credit information contained in the credit information report of such debtor.

(2) A credit bureau shall provide to a debtor, a copy of the summary of rights alongwith the report requested under sub-section (1) as set out in the Schedule.

24. Accuracy and security of credit information files and credit reports.--(1) A credit bureau shall--

(a) take reasonable steps to ensure that the credit information stored, maintained and disseminated is accurate, up-to-date, complete and not misleading and for this purpose may make therein appropriate corrections, deletions and additions regularly during the course of business; and

(b) ensure that the credit information maintained by it is protected by such security safeguards as are reasonable in the circumstances against loss, unauthorized access, use, modification or disclosure thereof--

(2) The credit bureau shall follow the standards with respect to systems and procedures, including any information systems employed by the credit bureau to ensure credit information accuracy and security as may be prescribed by regulations.

(3) Every credit bureau shall arrange to have such systems and procedures independently audited every year to ensure adherence to standards prescribed under sub-section (2).

25. False or misleading credit information.--(1) A credit bureau or a credit information furnisher shall not knowingly disseminate credit information that contains false or misleading information.

(2) A credit bureau or credit institution which contravenes sub-section (1) shall be punishable with a fine not exceeding five million rupees.

26. Unauthorized access to or disclosure of credit information.--(1) No one shall obtain access to, or distribute or disclose, credit information in the possession or control of a credit bureau or a credit information furnisher or a user unless such access or distribution or disclosure is authorized by this Act or any other law for the time being in force.

(2) Any credit bureau which contravenes the provisions of this section shall be guilty of an offence punishable with a fine not exceeding five million rupees or by imprisonment not exceeding three months or with both:

Provided that the punishment of imprisonment shall be awarded to the director, officer, employee, agent or representative, etc., of the credit bureau who is convicted of such contravention.

27. Obtaining access to credit information by false pretences.--No one shall obtain access to credit information in the possession or control of a credit bureau or a credit information furnisher or a user under or by false pretences and anyone who violates the provisions of this section shall be liable to be punished with a fine, not exceeding one million rupees or by imprisonment not exceeding three months or with both.

28. Obligations as to fidelity, confidentiality and secrecy.--(1) Every credit bureau, credit information provider, present or past employee of a credit bureau or credit information provider, or other person by reason of his capacity or office to have by any means access to credit information, shall regard as secret and confidential all documents or information disclosed to it in connection with the performance of any duty or function under this Act.

(2) Every chairman, director, member of the board of directors, auditor, adviser, officer or other employee of a credit bureau shall, before entering upon his duties, make a declaration of fidelity and secrecy in the form as may be prescribed.

(3) A disclosure made in any of the following circumstances shall not be deemed inconsistent with any duty imposed by this section being a disclosure.

(a) permitted by the provisions of this Act;

(b) on the instruction of the consumer to whom the information related;

(d) as directed by an order of the Court.

29. Exchange of credit information.--Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, credit bureaus in Pakistan may exchange credit information on confidential basis amongst themselves, or with other companies as may be approved by the State Bank of Pakistan for the purpose of exchange of credit information.

30. Protection of action taken in good faith.--No suit or other legal proceedings, prosecution, claims, actions or demands shall lie against the Federal Government, State Bank of Pakistan, a credit bureau and credit information furnisher or against their directors, officers, employees, agents or representatives or any other person authorized by the same to discharge any functions under this Act, for any loss or damage caused or that is likely to be caused by anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done, in pursuance of this Act or the rules and regulations made thereunder or any other law or provision having the force of law.

31. Requirements on users.--In the event that any user takes an adverse action with respect to a debtor that is based in whole or in part on any information contained in a credit information report relating to such debtor, such user shall provide to such debtor a copy of the credit information report relied upon, the name, address and telephone number of the credit bureau, which issued the credit information report in question, a copy of the summary of rights set out in the Schedule and a statement that the credit bureau did not make the decision to take the adverse action.

32. Legal recognition of electronic forms.--Any document, record, information, communication, transaction, publication or notice, made under or for the purposes of this Act, whether required or otherwise, shall be deemed valid if made in electronic form.

PART VIII

DISPUTE RESOLUTION

33. Resolution of disputes.--(1) In the event that the accuracy, completeness or correctness of a credit information report or any part thereof is disputed by the concerned debtor, such debtor may notify in writing to the concerned credit bureau of the alleged error, such credit bureau shall resolve or take up the dispute with the credit information furnisher:

Provided that the rights specified in the Schedule shall also apply to this section.

(2) The credit information reports shall clearly identify the disputed credit information, if any.

PART IX

OFFENCES, FINES AND PENALTIES

34. Penalties.--Any person who contravenes or defaults in complying with any provision or requirement of this Act or of any rules or regulations made thereunder or obstructs lawful exercise of any power conferred by or under this Act, shall, if no specific provision is made under this Act, the rules and regulations made thereunder for punishment of such contravention, default or obstruction, in addition to any other liability as provided for herein, be punishable with fine which may extend to five million rupees and where a contravention, default or obstruction is a continuing one, with a further fine which may extend to fifty thousand rupees for every day during which the contravention or default or obstruction continues.

35. Adjudication of fine or penalty.--Where only a fine is provided for any offence, contravention or default in complying with any of the provisions or requirements of this Act or of any rule or regulations made thereunder, it shall be adjudged by the State Bank of Pakistan provided that the person concerned is afforded an opportunity of being heard.

36. Application of fines or penalties.--(1) The Court imposing any fine or penalty under this Act may direct that the whole or any part thereof shall be applied in or towards--

(a) payment of costs of the proceedings; or

(b) for such purposes as may be directed by the Court.

(2) Any amount recovered as fine or penalty, which is not applied as aforesaid, shall be credited to the Public Account of the Federal Government.

37. Adjudication of punishment by imprisonment.--(1) Where imprisonment or imprisonment in addition to fine is provided for any contravention of, or default in complying with, any provisions of this Act and any rules or regulations made thereunder, it shall be adjudged by the Court.

(2) The Court shall not take cognizance of any offence punishable under this Act except upon a complaint in writing made by an officer of the State Bank of Pakistan or by a person authorised by the Federal Government in this behalf.

38. Appeal.--Any person aggrieved by decision of the Court under this Part, may within thirty days of date of the decision, prefer an appeal to the High Court.

PART X

APPEALS AND LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

39. Complaint to State Bank of Pakistan.--Any person aggrieved by any action or omission of a credit bureau, credit institution, debtor, user or any other person under this Act may make a complaint to the State Bank of Pakistan to resolve the dispute in such manner as it deems fit.

40. Appeal to High Court.--Any person aggrieved by decision, of the State Bank of Pakistan may, within thirty days of date of the decision, prefer an appeal to the High Court.

PART XI

GENERAL

41. Removal of difficulties.--If any difficulty arises in giving effect to any of the provisions of this Act, the Federal Government may make such order as may appear to it to be necessary for the purpose of removing the difficulty:

Provided that such power under this section shall not be exercisable after two years of the commencement of this Act.

42. Power of the Federal Government to make rules.--The Federal Government may, after consultation with the State Bank of Pakistan and by notification in the official Gazette, make rules to provide for all matters for which provision is necessary or expedient for the purposes of giving effect to the provisions of this Act.

43. Power to make regulations.--The State Bank of Pakistan may, by notification in the official Gazette, make regulations not inconsistent with the rules to provide for all matters for which provision is necessary.

SCHEDULE

[See Sections 23(2), 31 and 33]

SUMMARY OF RIGHTS

1. Limitation on credit information.--The scope of credit information that may be included in a credit information report by a credit bureau is limited by this Act. Personal information that may appear on a credit information report is also specific and limited under this Act and the rules and regulations made thereunder. Certain type of information may not appear on your credit information report for longer than a specified period of time.

2. Limitation on access to credit information reports.--Credit information reports may only be issued to specific persons under strictly defined circumstances and for specific purposes. Credit bureaus are liable to follow certain steps pertaining to the manner in which credit information reports are issued in order to ensure that the person to whom and the purposes for which credit information is being provided is authorized by and lies within the scope of this Act and the rules and regulations made thereunder.

3. Collection of credit information.--On most occasions when a credit bureau is seeking your credit information from you, credit bureaus are required to inform you that credit information is being collected; the purpose of such collection; intended recipients; name and address of the credit information that is collecting the information and the agency that will hold such information; whether or not the supply of the information is voluntary or mandatory and if mandatory, the particular law under which it is required; the consequences, if any, if all or any part of the requested information is not provided; the rights of access to and correction of credit information held and used by the credit bureau as provided herein.

4. Disclosure of source of credit information.--Credit bureaus are required to disclose the source of the credit information appearing on your credit information report upon request and payment of fee by you.

5. Right to credit information report.--(1) You or your authorized attorney may obtain a copy of your credit information from a credit bureau.

(2) Any user who takes an adverse action against you based in whole or in part on any information contained in a credit information report is required to provide you a copy of the credit information report relied upon, the name, address and telephone number of the credit bureau, which issued the credit information report in question and a statement that the credit bureau did not make the decision to take the adverse action.

(3) In the event that a correction is made to the credit information appearing on your credit information report in response to your notification of error, the concerned credit bureau must provide you with a copy free of cost of the updated credit information report.

6. Right to dispute incorrect credit information.--(1) Credit bureaus must take reasonable steps to ensure that the credit they collect, collate, accept, store, maintain and disseminate is accurate, up-to-date, complete and not misleading in any manner and for this purpose may make therein corrections, deletions and additions regularly during the course of business.

(2) In any event that the accuracy, completeness or correctness of a credit information report relating to you or any part thereof is disputed by you, you may notify the concerned credit bureau of the alleged error. The credit bureau must acknowledge receipt of such notification of error and provide you with this summary of rights within the time period prescribed.

(3) The credit bureau is required to re-investigate the disputed information, free of charge, within the period of time as prescribed. Credit information reports issued while the investigation is pending shall clearly identify the disputed credit information and that the same is being investigated for accuracy and the concerned credit bureau shall also, as far as is reasonably practicable, inform those

ORDINANCE NO. III OF 2015

COUNTERVAILING DUTIES ORDINANCE, 2014

An Ordinance to reform and repeal the Countervailing Duties Ordinance, 2001 (I of 2001)

[Gazette of Pakistan, Extraordinary, Part-I, 26^th February, 2015]

No. F. 2(1)/2015-Pub.--The following Ordinance Promulgated by the President is hereby published for general information:--

WHEREAS it is expedient to give effect in Pakistan to the Provisions of Articles VI and XVI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, 1994, and to the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures and to further strengthen the law relating to imposition of countervailing duties to offset such subsidies, to provide a framework for investigation and determination of such subsidies and injury in respect of goods imported into Pakistan;

AND WHEREAS the imposition of countervailing duties to offset injurious subsidization is in the public interest;

AND WHEREAS it is expedient to provide for certain reforms in the Countervailing Duties Ordinance, 2001,(I of 2001) by repealing it and re-enacting the law for matters connected therewith or ancillary thereto;

AND WHEREAS the Senate and the National Assembly are not in session and the President is satisfied that circumstances exist which render it necessary to take immediate action;

Now, THEREFORE, in exercise of the powers conferred by clause (1) of Article 89 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the President is pleased to make and promulgate the following Ordinance:--

PART I

PRELIMINARY

1. Short title, extent and commencement.--(1) This Ordinance may be called the Countervailing Duties Ordinance, 2014.

(2) It extends to the whole of Pakistan.

(3) It shall come into force at once.

2. Definitions.--In this Ordinance, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,--

(a) “Agreement on Subsidies” means the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures included in Annex (1-A) to the Final Ordinance of the Results of the Uruguay Round concerning the Implementation of Article XVI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, 1994;

(b) “Appellate Tribunal” means the Appellate Tribunal established under the Anti-Dumping Duties Ordinance, 2000 (LXV of 2000);

(d) “Association” means a trade Organization as defined in the Trade Organizations Act, 2013, (II of 2013), that has been granted or deemed to have been granted a licence under the said Act, or that is otherwise lawfully functioning as a trade organisation pursuant to sub-section (3) of Section 4 the said Act;

(e) “Commission” means the National Tariff Commission established under the National Tariff Commission Act, 1990 (VI of 1990);

(f) “Country” means any country or territory whether a member of the World Trade Organisation or not and includes a customs union or customs territory;

(g) “Countervailing measures” means any measures that may be taken by the Commission under this Ordinance including imposition of countervailing duties, whether provisional or definitive, or the acceptance of an undertaking;

(h) “Definitive countervailing duty” means a duty imposed by the Commission under Section 16, sub-section (15) of Section 14 or sub-section (2) of Section 17;

(i) “Domestic industry” means the domestic producers as a whole of a like product or those whose collective output of that product constitutes a major proportion of the total domestic production of that product; except that when any such domestic producers are related to the exporters or importers, or are themselves importers of the allegedly subsidised product. In such a case “domestic industry” shall mean the rest of the domestic producers:

Explanation.--For the purposes of this clause, producers shall be deemed to be related to exporters or importers only if--

(i) one of them directly or indirectly controls the other;

(ii) both of them are directly or indirectly controlled by the same third person; or

(iii) together they directly or indirectly control a third person:

Provided that there are grounds for believing or suspecting that the effect of the relationship is such as to cause the producer concerned to behave differently from non-related producers and for that purpose one shall be deemed to control another when the former is legally or operationally in a position to exercise restraint or direction over the latter:

Provided further that, in exceptional circumstances, as may be determined by the Commission, the domestic industry in relation to a product in question may be divided into two or more competitive markets and producers within each such market may be regarded as a separate industry if the --

(i) producers within such a market sell all or almost all of their production of the product in question in such a market; and

(ii) demand in such a market is not, to any substantial degree, supplied by producers of the product in question located elsewhere in Pakistan;

(j) “Exporting country” means a country granting subsidy in respect of an investigated product, which country may be either--

(i) the country of origin of the investigated product; or

(ii) where the investigated product is not exported directly to Pakistan but is transported through an intermediate country, such intermediate country;

(k) “government” means the government or any public body within the territory of an exporting country;

(l) “injury” means, unless otherwise specified, material injury to a domestic industry, threat of material injury to a domestic industry or material retardation of the establishment of a domestic industry, when subsidised imports are causing such injury;

(m) “interested party” includes--

(i) an exporter, foreign producer, an importer of an investigated product or an association a majority of the members of which are producers, exporters or importers of such product;

(ii) a producer of a like product in Pakistan or an association a majority of the members of which produce a like product in Pakistan; and

(iii) such other person or group of persons as the Commission may, by notification in the official Gazette, specify;

(n) “investigated product” means a product which is subject to an investigation under this Ordinance;

(o) “investigation” means an investigation conducted under this Ordinance;

(p) “like product” means a product which is alike in all respects to an investigated product or, in the absence of such a product, another product which, although not alike in all respects, has characteristics closely resembling those of the investigated product;

(q) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Ordinance;

(r) “provisional countervailing duty” means a duty imposed by the Commission under Section 13;

(s) “public notice” means a notice published by the Commission in at least one issue each of a daily newspaper in the English language and a daily newspaper in the Urdu language having wide circulation in Pakistan;

(t) “Schedule” mean the Schedule to this Ordinance;

(u) “subsidy” means a subsidy as defined in Section 4 and “subsidization” shall be construed accordingly; and

(v) “WTO” means the World Trade Organisation established pursuant to the Marrakesh Agreement concluded in Marrakesh, Morocco, on the 15th April, 1994.

PART II

COUNTERVAILING MEASURES

3. Levy of countervailing duty.--(1) Where the Commission determines in accordance with the provisions of this Ordinance that any exporting country pays or bestows, directly or indirectly, any subsidy upon the manufacture or production therein or the exportation therefrom of any investigated product including any subsidy on transportation of such product and such subsidy causes injury then, upon the importation of any such product into Pakistan, the Commission shall, by notification in the official Gazette, impose a countervailing duty thereon as provided for in this Ordinance.

(2) For the purposes of this Ordinance, a product shall be considered to be subsidised if it benefits from a countervailable subsidy as provided for in Sections 4 and 5.

(3) A subsidy may be granted by a government of the country of origin of an investigated product or by the government of an intermediate country from which the investigated product is exported to Pakistan.

(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Ordinance, where an investigated product is not directly imported from the country of origin but exported to Pakistan from an intermediate country, the provisions of this Ordinance shall be fully applicable and such transaction shall, where considered appropriate by the Commission, be regarded as having taken place between the country of origin of the investigated product and Pakistan.

DEFINITION OF SUBSIDY, COUNTERVAILABLE AND NON-COUNTERVAILABLE SUBSIDIES

4. Circumstances in which subsidy shall be deemed to exist.--A subsidy shall be deemed to exist if--

(a) there shall be financial contribution by a government, where--

(i) the government practice involves direct transfer of funds including grants, loans and equity infusion, or potential direct transfer of funds or liabilities, or both;

(ii) government revenue that is otherwise due is foregone or not collected including fiscal incentives such as tax credits:

Provided that exemption of an exported product from duties or taxes borne by a like product when destined for domestic consumption, or remission of such duties or taxes in amounts not in excess of those which have accrued, shall not be deemed to be a subsidy provided that such exemption is granted in accordance with the provisions of the First, Second and Third Schedules;

(iii) the government provides goods or services other than general infrastructure or purchases goods; or

(iv) the government makes payments to a funding mechanism, or entrusts or directs a private body to carry out one or more of the type of functions specified in sub-clauses (i), (ii) and (iii) which would normally be vested in the government and the practice in, no real sense, differs from practices normally followed by governments;

(b) there is any form of income or price support within the meaning of Article XVI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, 1994; and

5. Countervailable subsidies.--(1) A subsidy shall be subject to countervailing measures under this Ordinance only if the Commission determines that such subsidy is specific in accordance with the principles set out in sub-Sections (2), (3), (4) and (5).

(2) In order to determine whether a subsidy is specific to an enterprise, industry or a group of enterprises or industries, hereinafter referred to as “certain enterprises”, within the jurisdiction of a granting authority, the Commission shall apply the following principles, namely:--

(a) where the granting authority, or the legislation pursuant to which the granting authority operates, explicitly limits access to a subsidy to certain enterprises, such subsidy shall be specific;

(b) where the granting authority, or the legislation pursuant to which the granting authority operates, establishes objectives criteria or conditions governing the eligibility for, and the amount of, a subsidy, specificity shall not exist, provided that the eligibility is automatic and that such criteria and conditions are strictly adhered to;

Explanation.--For the purposes of clause (b), objective criteria or conditions mean criteria or conditions which are neutral, which do not favour certain enterprises over other, and which are economic in nature and horizontal in application, such as, number of employees or size of enterprise. Such criteria or conditions must be clearly set out by law, regulation, or other official document, so as to be capable of verification; and

(c) if, notwithstanding any appearance of non-specificity resulting from the application of the principles laid down in clauses (a) and (b), there are reasons to believe that the subsidy may in fact be specific, the following other factors may be considered by the Commission, namely:--

(i) use of a subsidy programme by a limited number of certain enterprises;

(ii) predominant use by certain enterprises;

(iii) granting of disproportionately large amounts of subsidy to certain enterprises; and

(iv) manner in which discretion has been exercised by the granting authority in the decision to grant a subsidy;

Explanation.--For the purposes of clause (c), information on the frequency with which applications for a subsidy are refused or approved and the reasons for such decisions shall, in particular, be considered.

(3) In applying the provisions of clause (c) of sub-section (2), the Commission shall take into account the extent of diversification of economic activities within the jurisdiction of a granting authority and the length of time during which subsidy programme has been in operation.

(4) A subsidy which is limited to certain enterprises located within a designated geographical region within the jurisdiction of a granting authority shall be specific.

(5) The setting or changing of generally applicable tax rates by all levels of the government entitled to do so shall not be deemed to be a specific subsidy.

(6) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-Sections (2), (3), (4) and (5), the following subsidies shall be deemed to be specific, namely:--

(a) subsidies contingent, in law or in fact, whether solely or as one of several other conditions, upon export performance, including those illustrated in the First Schedule:

Provided that subsidies shall be considered by the Commission to be contingent in fact upon export performance when the facts demonstrate that granting of a subsidy, without having been made legally contingent upon export performance, is in fact tied to actual or anticipated exportation or export earnings:

Provided further that the mere fact that a subsidy is accorded to enterprises which export shall not for that reason alone be considered by the Commission to be an export subsidy for the purposes of this clause; and

(b) subsidies contingent, whether solely or as one of several other conditions, upon the use of domestic over imported goods.

(7) Any determination of specificity by the Commission under this section shall be substantiated on the basis of positive evidence.

6. Non-countervailable subsidies.--Subsidies which are not specific as determined in accordance with the provisions of Section 5, shall not be subjected to countervailing measures under this Ordinance.

PART IV

CALCULATION OF THE AMOUNT OF COUNTERVAILABLE SUBSIDY

7. Calculation of amount of countervailable subsidy.--(1) The amount of countervailable subsidy, for the purposes of this Ordinance, shall be calculated by the Commission in terms of any benefit conferred on a recipient which is found to exist during an investigation period for subsidization, which period shall normally be the most recent accounting year of the beneficiary but may be any other period of at least six months prior to initiation of an investigation for which reliable financial and other relevant data are available.

(2) In determining the amount of countervailable subsidy the Commission shall apply the following principles to calculate any benefit conferred on the recipient as referred to in sub-section (1), namely:--

(a) government provisions of equity capital shall not be considered to confer any benefit, unless an investment can be regarded as inconsistent with the usual investment practice including, for the provision of risk capital of private investors in the territory of an exporting country;

(b) a loan by a government shall not be considered to confer any benefit, unless there is a difference between the amount that a firm receiving the government loan pays on it and the amount that the firm would pay for a comparable commercial loan which the firm could actually obtain on the market, in which event the benefit shall be the difference between these two amounts;

(c) a loan guarantee by a government shall not be considered to confer any benefit, unless there is a difference between the amount that a firm receiving the guarantee pays on the loan guaranteed by the government and the amount that the firm would pay for a comparable commercial loan in the absence of the guarantee, in which case the benefit shall be the difference between these two amounts, adjusted for any difference in fees; and

(d) a provision of goods or services or purchase of goods by a government shall not be considered to confer any benefit, unless the provision is made for less than adequate remuneration or the purchase is made for more than adequate remuneration, and the adequacy of remuneration shall be determined in relation to prevailing market conditions for the product or service in question in the country of provision or purchase including price, quality, availability, marketability, transportation and other conditions of purchase or sale.

8. General provisions on calculation of countervailable subsidies.--(1) Subject to sub-section (2), the amount of countervailable subsidies shall be determined by the Commission in terms of subsidization per unit of an investigated product exported to Pakistan and in establishing such amount the following elements may be deducted from the total subsidy, namely:--

(a) any fee or other costs necessarily incurred in order to qualify for or, to obtain a subsidy; and

(b) export taxes, duties or other charges levied on export of an investigated product to Pakistan specifically intended to offset a subsidy.

(2) Where an interested party claims a deduction under sub-section (1) such party shall prove to the Commission that the claim is justified.

(3) Where a subsidy is not granted by reference to the quantities manufactured, produced, exported or transported, the amount of countervailable subsidy shall be determined by allocating the value of the total subsidy, as appropriate, over the level of production, sales or exports of the products concerned during an investigation period for subsidization.

(4) Where a subsidy can be linked to acquisition or future acquisition of fixed assets, the amount of countervailable subsidy shall be calculated by spreading the subsidy across a period which reflects normal depreciation of such assets in the industry concerned, and the amount so calculated which is attributable to an investigation period, including that which derives from fixed asset acquired before such period, shall be allocated as provided for in sub-section (2):

Provided that where assets are non-depreciating, a subsidy shall be valued as an interest-free loan, and be treated in accordance with the provisions of clause (b) of sub-section (2) of Section 7.

(5) Where a subsidy cannot be linked to acquisition of fixed assets, the amount of any benefit received during an investigation period shall, in principle, be attributed to this period, and allocated as provided for in sub-section (2), unless special circumstances arise justifying attribution over a different period.

PART V

DETERMINATION OF INJURY

9. Determination of injury.--(1) A determination of injury by the Commission shall be based on positive evidence and shall involve an objective examination of--

(a) volume of any subsidised imports and their effect on prices in domestic market for like products; and

(b) consequent impact of subsidised imports on domestic industry:

Explanation.--With regard to volume of any subsidised imports, consideration shall be given by the Commission to whether there has been a significant increase in subsidised imports, either in absolute terms or relative to production or consumption in Pakistan. With regard to effect of any subsidised imports on prices, consideration shall be given by the Commission to whether there has been significant price undercutting by the subsidised imports as compared with the price of a like product of domestic industry, or whether the effect of such imports is otherwise to depress prices to a significant degree or prevent price increases which would otherwise have occurred, to a significant degree, provided that no one or more of these factors shall be deemed to necessarily give decisive guidance.

(2) Where imports of a product from more than one country are simultaneously subject to an investigation, the effects of such imports may be cumulatively assessed by the Commission only if it determines that--

(a) the amount of countervailable subsidies established in relation to the imports from each country is negligible as defined in sub-section (3) of Section 15 and that the volume of imports from each country is not negligible; and

(b) a cumulative assessment of the effects of the imports is appropriate in the light of conditions of competition between imported products and the conditions of competition between the imported products and a like domestic product.

(3) An examination by the Commission of an impact of subsidized imports on a domestic industry concerned may include an evaluation of all relevant economic factors and indices having a bearing on the state of the domestic industry including the fact that the domestic industry is still in the process of recovering from the effects of past subsidisation or dumping, the magnitude of the amount of countervailable subsidies, actual and potential decline in sales, profits, output, market share, productivity, return on investments, utilization of capacity, factors affecting domestic prices, actual and potential negative effects on cash flow, inventories, employment, wages, growth, ability to raise capital or investments and in the case of agriculture, whether there has been an increased burden on Government support programmes.

(4) The Commission shall satisfy itself that subsidised imports are, through the effects of subsidies, as set forth in sub-Sections (1) and (3), causing injury within the meaning of this Ordinance. The consideration of a causal relationship between subsidised imports and injury to domestic industry shall be based on an examination by the Commission of all relevant evidence before it.

(5) The Commission shall examine known factors other than subsidized imports which are injuring domestic industry to ensure that injury caused by such other factors is not attributed to subsidised imports. Such other factors may include factors such as the volume and prices of non-subsidised imports, contraction in demand or changes in patterns of consumption, restrictive trade practices of and competition between a third country and domestic producers, developments in technology and export performance and productivity of domestic industry.

(6) The effect of subsidised imports shall be assessed by the Commission in relation to the production by domestic industry of a like product when available data permits separate identification of that production on the basis of such criteria as the production process, producers' sales and profits:

Provided that where such separate identification of that production is not possible, the effects of subsidised imports shall be assessed by the Commission by examination of the production of the narrowest group or range of products including a like product, for which the necessary information can be provided.

(7) A determination of a threat of material injury by the Commission shall be based on facts and not merely on allegation, conjecture or remote possibility and any change in circumstances which would create a situation in which subsidy would cause injury must be foreseen and imminent.

(8) In making a determination regarding the existence of a threat of material injury, the Commission shall take into consideration factors such as--

(a) the nature of subsidy or subsidies in question and any trade effects likely to arise therefrom;

(b) any significant rate of increase of subsidised imports into a domestic market indicating the likelihood of substantially increased imports;

(c) sufficient freely disposable capacity of an exporter or an imminent substantial increase in such capacity indicating the likelihood of substantially increased subsidised exports into Pakistan, account being taken of the availability of other export markets to absorb any additional exports;

(d) whether imports are entering at prices that would, to a significant degree, depress prices or prevent price increases which otherwise would have occurred and would probably increase demand for further imports; and

(e) inventories of an investigated product.

Explanation.--None of the factors specified in sub-section (8) by itself shall be deemed to necessarily give decisive guidance but the totality of the factors considered by the Commission must lead to the conclusion that further subsidised exports are imminent and that, unless protective action is taken, material injury will occur.

10. Further circumstances in which injury may be found to exist.--(1) Where domestic industry in relation to a product in question has been divided into two or more competitive markets and the producers within each such market regarded as a separate industry in accordance with the second proviso to clause (i) of Section 2, injury may be found to exist even where a major portion of the total domestic industry does not suffer injury provided that, there is a concentration of subsidised imports into such a separated market, and provided further that the subsidised imports are causing injury to the producers of all or almost all of the production within such market.

(2) Where injury is found to exist in the circumstances referred to in sub-section (1), the exporters or the government granting countervailable subsidies shall be given an opportunity to offer an undertaking in accordance with Section 14 in respect of the region concerned or to cease exporting at subsidised prices to the region concerned prior to any countervailing measures being applied by the Commission under this Ordinance.

(3) In the circumstances referred to in sub-section (2), special account shall be taken by the Commission of any interest of the region and if an adequate undertaking is not offered promptly or if the situations set out in sub-Sections (13) and (14) of Section 14 apply, a provisional or definitive countervailing duty may be imposed by the Commission in respect of domestic industry as a whole.

(4) The provisions of sub-section (6) of Section 9 shall apply to this section.

PART VI

INVESTIGATION

11. Initiation of investigation.--(1) Save as provided for in sub-section (11), the Commission shall initiate an investigation to determine the existence, degree and effect of any alleged subsidy only upon receipt of a written application by or on behalf of domestic industry.

(2) An application shall be submitted to the Commission in such manner, number and form and with such fee as may be prescribed. It shall include sufficient evidence of the existence of a subsidy and, if possible, its amount, injury within the meaning of this Ordinance and a causal link between the subsidized imports and the alleged injury. The application shall also contain such information as is reasonably available to an applicant on the following, namely:--

(a) identity of the applicant and a description of the volume and value of domestic production of a like product by the applicant:

Provided that where an application is made on behalf of domestic industry, the application shall identify the industry on behalf of which the application is made by a list of all known domestic producers of the like product or, association of domestic producers of the like product and, to the extent possible, a description of the volume and value of domestic production of the like product accounted for by such producers;

(b) a complete description of an allegedly subsidised product including its current customs tariff classification number as contained in the First Schedule to the Customs Act, 1969 (IV of 1969), the name of exporting country, identity of each known exporter or foreign producer, and a list of known persons importing the product in question;

(d) information on changes in volume of allegedly subsidised imports, the effect of those imports on prices of a like product in domestic market and the consequent impact of the imports on domestic industry as demonstrated by relevant factors and indices having a bearing on the state of domestic industry, such as those listed in the explanation to sub-section (1) of Section 9, and in sub-section (3) of Section 9.

(3) The Commission shall examine the accuracy and adequacy of the evidence provided in an application to determine whether it is compliant with the requirements of sub-section (2) and in order to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to justify initiation of an investigation.

(4) An investigation may be initiated by the Commission in order to determine whether or not the alleged subsidies are specific in accordance with the principles set out in Section 5.

(5) An investigation may also be initiated by the Commission in respect of subsidies which are non-countervailable in accordance with the provisions of Section 6 in order to determine whether or not the conditions set out therein have been met.

(6) If a subsidy is granted pursuant to a subsidy programme which has been notified in advance of its implementation to the WTO Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures in accordance with Article 8 of the Agreement on Subsidies and in respect of which the said Committee has failed to determine that the relevant conditions laid down in Article 8 of the Agreement on Subsidies have not been met, an investigation shall not be initiated by the Commission in respect of a subsidy granted pursuant to such a programme, unless an infringement of Article 8 of the Agreement on Subsidies has been ascertained by the competent WTO Dispute Settlement Body or through arbitration as provided in Article 8(5) of the Agreement on Subsidies.

(7) An investigation may be initiated by the Commission in respect of measures of any type to the extent that they contain an element of subsidy as defined in Section 4.

(8) An investigation shall not be initiated by the Commission pursuant to sub-section (1) unless the Commission is satisfied, on the basis of an examination as to the degree of support for, or opposition to, an application expressed by domestic producers of a like product, that the application has been made by or on behalf of domestic industry.

(9) An application shall be considered to have been made by or on behalf of domestic industry if it is supported by those domestic producers whose collective output constitutes more than fifty percent of the total production of a like product produced by that portion of domestic industry expressing cither support for or opposition to the application:

Provided that no investigation shall be initiated by the Commission when domestic producers expressly supporting an application account for less than twenty-five percent of the total production of a like product produced by domestic industry.

(10) The Commission shall, as soon as possible after receipt of a properly documented application in accordance with the requirements of Section 11, and in any event before initiation of an investigation, give notice to an exporting country, which shall be invited for consultations with the aim of clarifying the situation as to matters referred to in sub-section (2) and arriving at a mutually agreed solution.

(11) The Commission may, suo moto, initiate an investigation without having received a written application by or on behalf of domestic industry if it has sufficient evidence of the existence of countervailable subsidies and injury within the meaning of this Ordinance.

(12) The evidence both of subsidy and of injury shall be considered simultaneously by the Commission in the decision on whether or not to initiate an investigation and an application shall be rejected where there is insufficient evidence of either countervailable subsidies or of injury to justify initiation of an investigation:

Provided that an investigation shall not be initiated against countries whose imports represent a market share of below one per cent unless such countries collectively account for three per cent or more of domestic consumption.

(13) An application may be withdrawn by an applicant prior to initiation of an investigation by the Commission, in which case it shall, subject to the provisions of sub-section (1) of Section 15, be deemed not to have been made:

Provided that upon withdrawal of an application any fee paid by an applicant pursuant to sub-section (2) shall stand forfeited in favour of the Commission.

(14) Where, after consultation with an exporting country as provided for in sub-section (10), the Commission is satisfied that there is sufficient evidence to justify initiating an investigation, the Commission shall give notice of such decision by means of a public notice of initiation of an investigation, and the initiation of an investigation shall be effective on the date on which such notice is published.

(15) Where the Commission does not consider it appropriate to initiate an investigation it shall inform an applicant of its decision.

(16) The public notice of initiation of an investigation referred to in sub-section (14) shall announce initiation of an investigation, indicate the product and countries concerned, give a summary of the information received, provide that all relevant information is to be communicated to the Commission, state the periods within which any interested party may make itself known, present its views in writing and submit information if such views and information are to be taken into account during the investigation and shall also state the period within which interested parties may apply to be heard by the Commission in accordance with sub-section (4) of Section 12.

(17) The Commission shall advise any exporters, importers and any association of importers or exporters known to it to be concerned, as well as an exporting country and an applicant, of initiation of an investigation and, subject to the requirements of Section 29, provide the full text of an application to the known exporters and to the authorities of an exporting country, and make it available upon request to other interested parties involved:

Provided that, where the Commission determines that the number of exporters involved is particularly high, the full text of a written complaint may instead be provided by the Commission only to the authorities of an exporting country or to a relevant association.

(18) An investigation shall not hinder the procedures of customs clearance.

12. Principles governing investigation.--(1) Following initiation of an investigation, the Commission shall commence an investigation and such investigation shall cover both subsidisation and injury which, shall be investigated simultaneously.

(2) For the purpose of,--

(a) a representative finding, an investigation period shall be selected by the Commission which, in the case of subsidisation shall, normally, cover an investigation period provided for in Section 7 and information relating to a period subsequent to the investigation period shall not, normally, be taken into account by the Commission; and

(b) an investigation of injury, the investigation period shall normally cover thirty-six months:

Provided that the Commission may at its sole discretion, select a shorter or longer period if it deems it appropriate in view of available information regarding domestic industry and an investigated product.

(3) Parties receiving questionnaires from the Commission used in a countervailing duty investigation shall be given at least thirty days to reply and such time limit for exporters shall be counted from the date of receipt of the questionnaire which, for this purpose shall be deemed to have been received one week from the day on which it was sent to a respondent or transmitted to an appropriate diplomatic representative of an exporting country:

Provided that where a party shows due cause for an extension to the satisfaction of the Commission, an extension of not more than thirty days may be granted by the Commission at its discretion.

(4) Any interested party which has made itself known in accordance with sub-section (16) of Section 11 shall be heard by the Commission if it has within the period prescribed in a public notice of initiation of an investigation made a written request for hearing showing that it is an interested party likely to be affected by the result of an investigation and that there are particular reasons why it should be heard.

(5) Opportunities shall, on request, be provided for any importers, exporters and an applicant, which have made themselves known in accordance with sub-section (16) of Section 11 and the government of an exporting country to meet those parties having adverse interests, so that opposing views may be presented and rebuttal arguments offered. Provision of such opportunities shall take account of the need to preserve confidentiality and of convenience of the parties. There shall be no obligation on any party to attend such meeting and failure to do so shall not be prejudicial to that patty's case. Oral information provided under this sub-section shall only be taken into account by the Commission to the extent that the same is subsequently confirmed in writing and provided to the Commission .

(6) Without prejudice to the provisions of Section 42, an applicant, the government of an exporting country, importers and exporters and their representative associations, which, have made themselves known in accordance with sub-section (16) of Section 11, may, upon written request, inspect all information made available to the Commission by any party to an investigation, as distinct from internal documents prepared by the Commission, which is relevant to presentation of their cases and is not confidential within the meaning of Section 29, and that it is used in an investigation. Such parties may respond to such information and their comments shall be taken into consideration wherever they are sufficiently substantiated in a response.

(7) Save as provided for in Section 28, any information which is supplied by interested parties and upon which findings are based shall, to the extent possible, be examined for accuracy by the Commission.

(8) An investigation shall, whenever possible, be concluded within one year and in no event later than eighteen months from its initiation, in accordance with the findings made pursuant to Section 14 for undertakings or the findings made pursuant to Section 16 for definitive action.

(9) Throughout an investigation, the Commission shall afford an exporting country a reasonable opportunity to continue consultations with a view to clarifying the factual situation and arriving at a mutually agreed solution:

Provided that the Commission may continue an investigation during such consultations.

(10) The Commission shall allow industrial users of an investigated product in Pakistan, and representative consumer organisations in cases where the investigated product is commonly sold at retail level in Pakistan to provide to the Commission, in writing, no later than two months after initiation of an investigation, information concerning matters relevant to the investigation regarding subsidisation dumping and injury.

PART VII

PROVISIONAL COUNTERVAILING MEASURES

13. Provisional countervailing duties.--(1) Provisional countervailing duty shall be imposed by the Commission if--

(a) an investigation has been initiated by the Commission in accordance with Section 11;

(b) a public notice of initiation of an investigation has been given and interested parties have been given adequate opportunities to submit information and make comments in accordance with sub-section (16) of Section 11; and

(c) a provisional affirmative determination has been made by the Commission that a subsidy exists and that there is consequent injury to domestic industry.

(2) A provisional countervailing duty shall not be imposed earlier than sixty days from initiation of an investigation but no later than nine months from initiation of the investigation and shall be in an amount equal to the total amount of countervailable subsidies as provisionally established by the Commission :

Provided that the amount of the provisional countervailing duty shall not exceed the total amount of subsidisation as provisionally established, but it may be less than the margin if such lesser duty would be adequate to remove the injury to the Domestic Industry,

(3) A provisional countervailing duty shall be in the form of cash deposit equal to the amount of the provisionally calculated amount of subsidisation:

Provided that the release of a product concerned for free circulation in Pakistan shall be subject to provisions of such cash deposit.

(4) A provisional countervailing duty shall be imposed for a period not exceeding four months.

PART VIII

UNDERTAKINGS AND TERMINATION WITHOUT MEASURES

14. Undertakings.--(1) An investigation may be terminated by the Commission without imposition of provisional or definitive countervailing duties upon receipt of a satisfactory voluntary undertaking under which--

(a) an exporting country agrees to eliminate or limit subsidy or take other measures concerning its effects: or

(b) any exporter undertakes to revise its prices or to cease exports in question as long as such exports benefit from countervailable subsidies, so that the Commission is satisfied that the injurious effect of the subsidies is eliminated.

(2) Price increases under such undertakings shall not be higher than those which are necessary to offset the amount of countervailable subsidies and shall be less than the amount of countervailable subsidies if such increases would be adequate to remove injury to domestic industry.

(3) Undertakings may be suggested by the Commission but no country or exporter shall be obliged to enter into such an undertaking and the fact that countries or exporters do not offer such undertakings, or do not accept an invitation to do so, shall in no way prejudice the outcome of an investigation by the Commission:

Provided that the Commission may in such circumstances determine that a threat of injury is more likely to be realised if the subsidised imports continue.

(4) Undertakings shall not be sought or accepted by the Commission from countries or exporters unless a provisional affirmative determination of subsidisation and injury caused by such subsidisation has been made by the Commission.

(5) Save in exceptional circumstances, undertakings may not be offered later than the end of the period during which representations may be made pursuant to sub-section (7) of Section 30.

(6) The decision to accept an undertaking shall rest with the Commission.

Explanation.--The Commission may not accept a price undertaking if it considers the acceptance thereof to be impractical because the number of actual or potential exporters is too great or for reasons of general policy or for any other reason.

(7) An exporting country or exporter concerned may be provided with the reasons for which it is proposed to reject an offer of an undertaking and may be given an opportunity to make comments thereon and the reasons for rejection shall be set out in a definitive decision by the Commission.

(8) Parties which offer an undertaking shall be required to provide a non-confidential version of such undertaking so that it may be made available to interested parties to an investigation.

(9) If an undertaking is accepted by the Commission, it shall nevertheless complete an investigation if it receives a request from an exporting country or exporter in writing to continue such investigation or where the Commission so decides on its own accord.

(10) In the event the Commission makes a negative determination of subsidisation and injury pursuant to an investigation continued under sub-section (9), an undertaking in question shall automatically lapse except in cases where the Commission determines that such a determination is due in large part to the existence of such undertaking in which case the Commission may require that such undertaking be maintained for a reasonable period of time to be determined by the Commission.

(11) In the event the Commission makes an affirmative determination of subsidisation and injury pursuant to an investigation continued pursuant to sub-section (9), an undertaking in question shall continue consistent with the provisions of this Ordinance.

(12) The Commission may require any country or exporter from whom an undertaking has been accepted to provide, periodically, information relevant to the fulfilment of such undertaking and to permit verification of such information.

(13) Failure to provide any information requested by the Commission pursuant to sub-section (12) shall be deemed to be a violation of an undertaking in question.

(14) Where undertakings are accepted from certain exporters during the course of an investigation, they shall, for the purpose of Sections 19, 20, 21 and 23 be deemed to take effect from the date on which the investigation is concluded for an exporting country.

(15) If an undertaking is violated or deemed to be violated, the Commission may, subject to the provisions of this Ordinance, take expeditious actions, which may include immediate application of provisional measures using the best information available. In such cases, a definitive countervailing duty may be levied in accordance with the provisions of this Ordinance on products entered for domestic consumption not more than ninety days before the application of such provisional measures, except that any such retroactive assessment shall not apply to imports entered before such violation of the undertaking.

15. Termination of investigation without measures.--(1) An application submitted pursuant to Section 11 may be withdrawn at any time after an investigation has been initiated, in which case the Commission shall terminate the investigation without imposition of any measures provided for in this Ordinance:

Provided that the Commission may, if it considers it fit to do so, continue an investigation notwithstanding the withdrawal of an application in which event, the Commission may, subject to the provisions of this Ordinance impose such measures as are provided for in this Ordinance.

(2) Where, the Commission determines in accordance with the provisions of sub-Sections (3), (4), (5), and (6) that the amount of countervailable subsidies is negligible or, where the volume of subsidised imports, whether actual or potential, or injury is negligible then it shall immediately terminate an investigation.

(3) The amount of countervailable subsidies shall be considered to be negligible if such amount is less than one per cent ad valorem, except that in the case of investigations concerning imports from developing countries the negligible subsidy threshold shall be two per cent ad valorem.

(4) Injury shall normally be regarded as negligible where the market share of any imports is less than the amounts set out in the proviso to sub-section (12) of Section 11.

(5) In the case of an investigation concerning imports from developing countries, the volume of subsidised imports shall be considered negligible if it represents less than four per cent of the total imports of a like product in Pakistan, unless imports from developing countries whose individual shares of total imports represent less than four percent collectively account for more than nine per cent of the total imports of a like product in Pakistan.

(6) In the case of an investigation concerning imports from countries other than developing countries, the volume of subsidised imports shall be considered negligible if it represents less than three per cent of the total imports of a like product in Pakistan, unless imports from such countries under investigation which individually account for less than three per cent of the total imports of a like product in Pakistan collectively account for more than seven per cent of imports of the like product in Pakistan.

(7) Termination of an investigation under this Ordinance or conclusion of an investigation without imposition of measures shall not be a bar to filing of a de novo application for a new investigation immediately after termination or conclusion of the investigation. The Commission shall treat the application in accordance with provisions of this Ordinance.

PART IX

DEFINITIVE COUNTERVAILING DUTIES

16. Imposition of definitive countervailing duties.--(1) Where the Commission has established the existence of countervailable subsidies and injury caused thereby, a definitive countervailing duty shall be imposed by the Commission, unless the subsidy in question is withdrawn or it has been demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Commission that the subsidies no longer confer any benefit on any exporters involved.

(2) A definitive countervailing duty shall be an amount equal to the amount of countervailable subsidies from which any exporters have been found to benefit, as established by the Commission in accordance with the provisions of this Ordinance:

Provided that the amount of the countervailing duty shall not exceed the total amount of subsidisation established but it may be less than the total amount if such lesser duty would be adequate to remove injury to the domestic industry.

(3) A definitive countervailing duty shall be imposed in an appropriate amount in each case, on a non-discriminatory basis, on imports of a product from all sources found to benefit from countervailable subsidies and causing injury except as to imports from those sources from which undertakings under Section 14 have been accepted by the Commission.

(4) When the Commission has limited its examination in accordance with Section 27, any definitive countervailing duty applied to imports from exporters or producers which have made themselves known in accordance with Section 27 but were not included in an examination shall not exceed the weighted average amount of countervailable subsidies established for parties in a sample.

(5) For the purposes of sub-section (4), the Commission shall disregard any negligible amounts of countervailable subsidies and amounts of countervailable subsidies established in the circumstances referred to in Section 28.

(6) Individual duties shall be applied to imports from any exporter or producer for which an individual amount of subsidisation has been calculated as provided for in Section 27.

PART X

RETROACTIVITY

17. Retroactivity.--(1) Save as otherwise provided in this section, provisional and definitive countervailing duties shall only be applied to products which enter Pakistan for consumption after the time when the requirements set out in sub-section (1) of Section 13 and sub-section (1) of Section 16, as the case may be, have been fulfilled.

(2) Where the Commission makes a final determination of injury, but not of a threat thereof or of material retardation of the establishment of an industry or, in the case of a final determination of a threat of injury, where the Commission determines that the effect of subsidised imports would, in the absence of provisional measures, have led to a determination of injury, definitive countervailing duties shall be levied by the Commission retroactively for the period for which provisional duty, if any, have been applied.

(3) If a definitive countervailing duty imposed by the Commission pursuant to sub-section (2) is higher than a provisional countervailing duty, the difference shall not be collected:

Provided that where a definitive countervailing duty is lower than a provisional countervailing duty, the duty difference shall be refunded by the Commission in an expeditious manner.

(4) Save as provided for in sub-section (3), where the Commission makes a determination of threat of injury or material retardation but, no injury has yet occurred, a definitive countervailing duty shall be imposed by the Commission only from the date of the determination of threat of injury or material retardation and any cash deposit provided during the period of application of provisional countervailing duty shall be refunded by the Commission in an expeditious manner.

(5) Where the Commission makes a negative final determination any cash deposit provided during the period of application of provisional countervailing duties shall be refunded by the Commission in an expeditious manner.

(6) A definitive countervailing duty shall be imposed by the Commission on products, which were imported for consumption not more than ninety days prior to the date of application of provisional countervailing duly if, the Commission determines, for an investigated product in question, that injury which is difficult to repair, is caused by massive imports in a relatively short period of a product benefiting from a countervailable subsidy and the Commission deems it necessary to impose such duty in order to preclude the recurrence of such injury.

PART XI

DURATION, REVIEWS AND REFUNDS, AND GENERAL PROVISIONS

18. Duration of definitive countervailing duty.--Subject to the provisions of this Ordinance, a definitive countervailing duty imposed pursuant to this Ordinance shall remain in force only as long as, and to the extent that, it is necessary to counteract countervailable subsidies which are causing injury.

19. Expiry reviews.--(1) A definitive countervailing duty shall expire after five years from its imposition or five years from the date of the most recent review which has covered both subsidisation and injury, unless it is determined in a review that the expiry would be likely to lead to a continuation or recurrence of subsidisation and injury. Such an expiry review may be initiated, on an initiative of the Commission or, upon a request made by or on behalf of domestic producers, and the measure in question shall remain in force pending the outcome of such review.

(2) An expiry review shall be initiated by the Commission upon request made by or on behalf of domestic producers where such request contains sufficient evidence that the expiry of a measure in question would be likely to result in a continuation or recurrence of subsidisation and injury.

Explanation.--Such a likelihood may, for example, be indicated by evidence of continued subsidisation and injury or evidence that the removal of injury is partly or solely due to the existence of measures or evidence that the circumstances of exporters, or market conditions, are such that they would indicate the likelihood of further injurious subsidisation.

(3) In carrying out investigations under this section, the Commissions shall provide any exporters, importers, an exporting country and domestic producers with the opportunity to amplify, rebut or comment on the matters set out in a review request, and conclusions shall be reached by the Commission with due account taken of all relevant and duly documented evidence presented in relation to the question as to whether the expiry of measures would be likely, or unlikely, to lead to the continuation or recurrence of subsidisation and injury.

(4) The Commission shall notify an impending expiry by a public notice which shall be published at an appropriate time, as determined by the Commission, in the final year of the period of application of a measure in question and a public notice announcing the actual expiry of a measure under this section shall also be published by the Commission.

20. Interim reviews.--(1) The need for continued imposition of measures under this Ordinance may also be reviewed, where warranted on an initiative of the Commission or, provided that a period of at least twenty-four months has elapsed since the imposition of definitive countervailing duty, upon a request by any exporter, importer or by domestic producers or an exporting country which contains sufficient evidence substantiating the need for such an interim review.

(2) An interim review under sub-section (1) shall be initiated by the Commission where a request contains sufficient evidence that the continued imposition of a measure is no longer necessary to offset countervailable subsidy or that injury would be unlikely to continue or recur if a measure were removed or varied, or that an existing measure is not, or is no longer, sufficient to counteract countervailable subsidy which is causing injury:

Provided that the Commission may require an applicant requesting a review under sub-section (1) to fill in an additional questionnaire provided by it requiring such information and for such period as the Commission deems necessary before such review is initiated in which case the review shall be initiated following the receipt by the Commission of such questionnaire duly filled in.

(3) In carrying out investigations pursuant to this section, the Commission may, in addition to other factors considered relevant by it, consider whether the circumstances with regard to subsidisation and injury have changed significantly, or whether existing measures are achieving the intended results in removing an injury previously established under Section 9.

21. Accelerated reviews.--(1) Any exporter whose exports are subject to a definitive countervailing duty but who was not individually investigated during an original investigation for reasons other than a refusal to co-operate with the Commission shall be entitled, upon request, to an accelerated review in order that the Commission may promptly establish an individual countervailing duty rate for that exporter provided that such review shall be initiated after domestic producers have been given an opportunity to comment.

(2) The Commission may require an applicant requesting a review under sub-section (1) to fill in an additional questionnaire provided by it before such review is initiated in which case a review under sub-section (1) shall be initiated following the receipt by the Commission of such questionnaire duly filled in.

22. Refunds.--(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in Section 19, an importer may apply to the Commission for refund of duties collected where it is shown that the amount of countervailable subsidies, on the basis of which duties were paid, has been either eliminated or reduced to a level which is below the level of the duty in force.

(2) An importer may submit an application for refund of countervailing duties collected within any twelve months period to the Commission no later than sixty days from the end of such period.

(3) An application for refund shall be considered to be duly supported by evidence only where it contains precise information on the amount of refund of countervailing duties claimed and all customs documentation relating to the calculation and payment of such amount and includes evidence, for a representative period, of the amount of countervailable subsidies for any exporter or producer to which the duty applies:

Provided that, where the importer is not associated with any exporter or producer concerned and such information is not immediately available, or where any exporter or producer is unwilling to release it to an importer, the application for refund shall contain a statement from the exporter or producer that the amount of countervailable subsidies has been reduced or eliminated, as specified in this section, and that the relevant supporting evidence will be provided to the Commission:

Provided further that where such evidence is not forthcoming from any exporter or producer within a reasonable period of time, as determined by the Commission, the application shall be rejected by the Commission.

(4) The Commission shall determine whether and to what extent an application should be granted, or it may decide at any time to initiate an interim review, whereupon any information and findings from such review, carried out in accordance with the provisions applicable for such review, shall be used to determine whether and to what extent a refund is justified.

(5) A refund of countervailing duties under this section shall normally take place within twelve months, and in no circumstances more than eighteen months after the date on which a request for a refund, duly supported by evidence, has been made by an importer of a product subject to countervailing duty.

23. General provisions on reviews and refund.--(1) The provisions of Sections 11 and 12, excluding those relating to time limits, shall mutatis mutandis apply to any review carried out pursuant to Sections 19, 20 and 21.

(2) Any review pursuant to Sections 19, 20 or 21 shall be carried out by the Commission expeditiously and shall normally be concluded within twelve months of the date of initiation of the review.

(3) Where a review pursuant to Section 20 is in progress at the end of the period of application of a measure as defined in Section 19, the measure shall also be investigated under the provisions of Section 19.

(4) In any review or refund investigation carried out pursuant to Sections 19 to 22, the Commission shall, provided that circumstances have not changed, apply the same methodology as in an investigation which led to the duty, with due account being taken of Sections 7, 8 and 27.

24. Anti-circumvention measures.--(1) Countervailing duties imposed pursuant to this Ordinance may be extended to imports from third countries, of the like product, whether slightly modified or not, or to imports of the slightly modified like product from the country subject to measures, or parts thereof, when circumvention of the measures in force is taking place. Countervailing duties not exceeding the residual countervailing duty imposed in accordance with Section 16 may be extended to imports from companies benefiting from individual duties in the countries subject to measures when circumvention of the measures in force is taking place. Circumvention shall be defined as a change in the pattern of trade between third countries and Pakistan or between individual companies in the country subject to measures by Pakistan, which stems from a practice, process or work for which there is insufficient due cause or economic justification other than the imposition of the duty, and where there is evidence of injury or that the remedial effects of the duty are being undermined in terms of the prices or quantities of the like product, and where there is evidence of subsidy previously established for the like product, if necessary in accordance with the provisions of this Ordinance.

(2) The practice, process or work referred to in sub-section (1) includes inter alia, the slight modification of the product concerned to make it fall under customs tariff which are normally not subject to the measures, provided that the modification does not alter its essential characteristics, the consignment of the product subject to measures via third countries, the re-organisation by exporters or producers of their patterns and channels of sales in the country subject to measures in order to eventually have their products exported to Pakistan through producers benefiting from an individual duty rate lower than that applicable to the products of the manufacturers, and, in the circumstances indicated in sub-section (3). the assembly of parts by an assembly operation in Pakistan or a third country.

(3) An assembly operation in Pakistan or a third country shall be considered to circumvent the measures in force where the,--

(a) “operation started or substantially increased since, or just prior to, the initiation of the investigation and the parts concerned are from the country subject to measures;

(b) parts constitute sixty percent or more of the total value of the parts of the assembled product, except that in no case shall circumvention be considered to be taking place where the value added to the parts brought in, during the assembly or completion operation, is greater than twenty five percent of the manufacturing cost; and

(c) remedial effects of the duty are being undermined in terms of the prices or quantities of the assembled like product and there is evidence of subsidy previously established for the like or similar products.

(4) Investigations shall be initiated pursuant to this section on the initiative of the Commission or at the request of any interested party on the basis of sufficient evidence regarding the factors set out in sub-section (1) and (2). Investigations shall be concluded by the Commission within nine months.

25. General provisions.--(1) Countervailing duties, provisional or definitive, as the case may be, imposed under this Ordinance shall--

(a) take the form of ad valorem or specific duties:

Provided that provisional countervailing shall take the form of cash deposits equal to the amount of a provisionally calculated amount of subsidization;

(b) be imposed in addition to other import duties levied on an investigated product; and

(2) No product shall be subject to both anti-dumping duties and countervailing duties, under their respective laws for the time being in force, under this Ordinance for the purpose of dealing with one and the same situation arising from dumping or from export subsidization:

Provided that sub-section (2) shall not prohibit or prevent, concurrent investigations of the same product under the laws specified therein.

(3) The decisions regarding imposition of provisional or definitive countervailing duties, and notices regarding acceptance of undertakings or terminating an investigation, shall be published by the Commission in a public notice which shall contain, in particular, and with due regard to the protection of confidential information in accordance with Section 29, the names of exporters, if possible, or of the countries involved, a description of the product and a summary of the facts and considerations relevant to subsidy and injury determinations and in each case, a copy of the said notice shall be sent to the known interested parties.

(4) The provisions of sub-section (3) shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to reviews under this Ordinance.

(5) The Commission shall establish and maintain a non-lapscable personal ledger account in its name for the purpose of this Ordinance and all duties and fees payable under and collected pursuant to this Ordinance shall be held in such account.

(6) The account established under sub-section (5) shall be maintained and operated in such manner as may be prescribed.

PART XII

VERIFICATION VISITS, SAMPLING, NON-COOPERATION, CONFIDENTIALITY AND DISCLOSURE

26. Verification visits.--(1) The Commission may, where it considers it appropriate, carry out visits to examine the records of importers, exporters, traders, agents, producers, trade associations and organisations, to verify information provided on subsidisation and injury:

Provided that in the absence of a proper and timely reply a verification visit may not be carried out.

(2) The Commission may carry out investigations in third countries as required, provided that--

(a) it obtains consent of an entity concerned;

(b) it gives notice to a country in question; and

(3) As soon as consent of an entity concerned has been obtained the Commission shall give notice to an exporting country of the name and address of the entity to be visited and the dates agreed.

(4) An entity concerned shall be advised of the nature of information to be verified during verification visits and of any further information which needs to be provided during such visits:

Provided that this shall not preclude the Commission from requiring further information or verification.

27. Sampling.--(1) Where the Commission determines that the number of complainants, exporters or importers, types of product or transactions is large, the Commission may limit an investigation to--

(a) a reasonable number of parties, products or transactions by using samples which are statistically valid on the basis of information available at the time of selection; or

(b) to the largest representative volume of any production, sales or exports which can reasonably be investigated within the time available.

(2) The selection of parties, types of products or transactions made under this section shall rest with the Commission :

Provided that preference shall be given by the Commission to choosing a sample in consultation with, and with the consent of, the parties concerned:

Provided further that such parties make themselves known and make sufficient information available to the Commission, within three weeks of initiation of an investigation, to enable a representative sample to be chosen.

(3) In cases where the examination has been limited in accordance with this section, an individual amount of countervailable subsidisation shall, nevertheless, be calculated by the Commission for any exporter or producer not initially selected who submits the necessary information within the time limits provided for in this Ordinance except where the Commission determines that the number of exporters or producers is so large that individual examinations would be unduly burdensome and would prevent completion of an investigation within the applicable time limits.

(4) Where the Commission has decided to undertake a sample as provided for in this section and there is a degree of non-cooperation by some or all of the parties selected which is likely to materially affect the outcome of an investigation, a new sample may be selected by the Commission:

Provided that if a material degree of non-cooperation persists or there is insufficient time to select a new sample, the relevant provisions of Section 28 shall apply.

28. Non-cooperation.--(1) Where any interested party refuses access to, or otherwise does not provide, necessary information within the time limits provided in this Ordinance, or significantly impedes an investigation, provisional or final determinations, whether affirmative or negative, may be made by the Commission on the basis of the facts available.

(2) Where the Commission establishes that any interested party has supplied false or misleading information, such information shall be disregarded and use may be made by the Commission of the facts available.

(3) Where any information submitted by an interested party is not ideal in all respects it shall nevertheless not be disregarded by the Commission:

Provided that the Commission is satisfied that any deficiencies are not such as to cause undue difficulty in arriving at a reasonably accurate finding and that the information is appropriately submitted in good time and is verifiable, and that the party has acted to the best of its ability.

(4) If evidence or information is not accepted by the Commission, a supplying party shall be informed forthwith of the reasons therefor and shall be granted an opportunity to provide further explanations within such time limit as the Commission may specify.

(5) If determinations, including those regarding the amount of countervailable subsidies, are based on the provisions of sub-section (1) including any information supplied in an application it shall, where practicable and with due regard to the time limits of an investigation, be checked by the Commission by reference to information from other independent sources which may be available including published price lists, official import statistics and customs returns, or information obtained from other interested parties during the investigation.

(6) If an interested party does not co-operate, or co-operates only partially so that relevant information is thereby withheld, this may result in adverse inferences being drawn against the party withholding such relevant information.

29. Confidentiality.--(1) Subject to sub-section (2), the Commission shall, during and after an investigation, keep confidential any information submitted to it and such information shall not be disclosed without specific permission of the party submitting it.

(2) Information which is--

(a) by nature confidential, because its disclosure shall be of significant competitive advantage to a competitor, or because its disclosure would have a significantly adverse effect upon a person supplying the information, or upon a person from whom the information was acquired, or where the Commission determines such information to be of a confidential nature for any other reason; or

(b) provided on a confidential basis by parties to an investigation, shall, upon good cause shown, be treated as confidential by the Commission.

(3) The following types of information shall be deemed to be by nature confidential, unless the Commission determines that disclosure in a particular case would neither be of significant competitive advantage to a competitor nor have a significantly adverse effect upon a person supplying an information or upon a person from whom such information was acquired, namely:--

(a) business or trade secrets concerning the nature of a product, production processes, operations, production equipment, or machinery;

(b) information concerning financial condition of a company, which is not publicly available; and

(c) information concerning costs, identification of customers, sales, inventories, shipments, or amount or source of any income, profit, loss or expenditure related to the manufacture and sale of a product.

(4) Any party seeking any information to be kept confidential shall request for the same at the time the information is submitted, along with the reasons warranting confidentiality. The Commission shall consider such requests expeditiously and inform the party submitting the information if it determines that the request for keeping the information confidential is not warranted.

(5) Any party submitting any information with the request to keep it confidential shall furnish a non-confidential summary thereof Such summary may take the form of ranges or indexation of figures provided in a confidential version, or marked deletions in text or in such other form as the Commission may require:

Provided that such non-confidential summary shall permit a reasonable understanding of the substance of any information submitted in confidence:

Provided further that the deletion in text shall, unless otherwise allowed by the Commission, only relate to names of any buyer or supplier.

(6) In exceptional circumstances, parties may indicate that information for which confidentiality is sought is not susceptible of summary, in which case a statement of the reasons why summarisation is not possible shall be provided:

Provided that where the Commission concludes that a non-confidential summary provided fails to satisfy the requirements of sub-section (5), it may determine that the request for keeping an information confidential is not warranted.

(7) If the Commission finds that a request for keeping an information confidential is not warranted, and if the supplier of the information is unwilling to make the information public or to authorise the disclosure in generalised or summary form, the Commission shall disregard such information, and return the information concerned to the party submitting it.

(8) Save for sub-section (10), notwithstanding anything contained in this Ordinance or in any other law for the time being in force, any confidential information received or obtained, directly or indirectly, by the Commission pursuant to or in connection with an investigation shall not be subject to disclosure by the Commission to any Ministry, Division, department, agency or instrumentality of the Federal Government or a Provincial Government without the prior permission of the party submitting such confidential information:

Provided that no such permission shall be required in case where issues of National Security or Defense are involved. In this regard, the Commission shall decide as to whether the issues of National Security or Defense are involved in a case or not.

(9) Information received pursuant to this Ordinance shall be used only for the purpose for which it was requested.

(10) The provisions of sub-section (8) shall not preclude the supply of information called for by the Appellate Tribunal pursuant to Section 33:

Provided that the obligation to protect confidential information as provided for in this Chapter shall, mutatis mutandis, extend to the Appellate Tribunal, subject to the proviso to sub-section (8).

30. Disclosure.--(1) Any applicant, importer and exporter and their representative association and an exporting country may request disclosure by the Commission of the details underlying the essential facts and considerations on the basis of which provisional countervailing duties have been imposed:

Provided that requests for such disclosure shall be made in writing immediately following imposition of provisional countervailing duties and in any event no later than fifteen days thereof and a disclosure by the Commission shall be made in writing as soon as possible thereafter.

(2) The parties specified in sub-section (1) may request for a final disclosure by the Commission of the essential facts and considerations on the basis of which it is intended to recommend imposition of definitive countervailing duties, or termination of an investigation or proceedings without imposition of duties, particular attention being paid to disclosure of any facts or considerations which are different from those used for any provisional countervailing duties.

(3) Requests for final disclosure shall be addressed to the Commission in writing and be received, in cases where provisional countervailing duty has been applied, not later than one month after imposition of that duty.

(4) Where a provisional countervailing duty has not been imposed, parties shall be provided with an opportunity to request final disclosure within such time limits as may be determined by the Commission.

(5) Final disclosure shall be given in writing and shall be made, with due regard to the protection of confidential information pursuant to Section 29, as soon as possible, and normally, not later than one month prior to a definitive determination.

(6) Where the Commission is not in a position to disclose certain facts or considerations at that time, these shall be disclosed as soon as possible thereafter. Disclosure shall not prejudice any subsequent decision which may be taken by the Commission but where such decision is based on any different facts and considerations these shall be disclosed as soon as possible.

(7) Representations which are made after a final disclosure is given, shall be taken into consideration only if received within such period as may be determined by the Commission in each case, which shall be at least ten days, due consideration being given to the urgency of the matter.

31. Relationships between countervailing duty measures and multilateral remedies.--Where an investigated product is made subject to any countermeasures imposed following recourse to the dispute settlement procedures provided for in the Agreement on Subsidies and such measures are appropriate to remove the injury caused by any countervailable subsidies, any countervailing duty imposed with regard to such product under this Ordinance shall immediately be terminated by the Commission.

PART XIII

APPEAL TO THE APPELLATE TRIBUNAL

32. Appeal to the Appellate Tribunal.--(1) Without prejudice to the provisions of Anti-Dumping Ordinance, 2000 (LXV of 2000), the Appellate Tribunal shall also exercise jurisdiction under sub-section (2) under this Ordinance.

(2) Any interested party may prefer an appeal to the Appellate Tribunal against,--

(a) the initiation of an investigation or a preliminary determination, where it is alleged that it does not satisfy the requirements of Section 11 and Section 13 respectively;

(b) an affirmative or negative final determination by the Commission;

(d) an order of the Commission for termination of investigation under Section 15; or

(e) a determination of the Commission under Section 22,

(3) An appeal under clause (a) of sub-section (2) shall be filed within thirty days of the publication of notice of initiation or notice preliminary determination, as the case may be.

(4) The Appellate Tribunal shall handle such an appeal as a priority and shall issue its decision on the appeal within forty five days of the filing of an appeal with the Appellate Tribunal.

(5) The filing of an appeal under clause (a) of sub-section (2) shall have no effect on the Commission's conduct of investigation.

(6) An appeal under clauses (b) to (e) of sub-section (2) shall be filed within forty-five days from the date of publication in newspapers of a public notice or as the case may be, date of the decision of the Commission of any affirmative or negative final decision or determination or termination of investigation by the Commission, and shall be in such form and contain such information as may be prescribed.

(7) Such an appeal shall be disposed of and the decision of the Appellate Tribunal pronounced, as expeditiously as possible, but no later than ninety days from the date of receipt of an appeal compliant with the requirements contained in this Ordinance, except in extraordinary circumstances and on grounds to be recorded. The Appellate Tribunal shall hear the appeal from day-to-day.

(8) In examining an appeal under sub-section (2), the Appellate Tribunal may make such further inquiry as it may consider necessary, and after giving the Commission and an appellant an opportunity of being heard, pass such order as it thinks fit, confirming, altering or annulling a determination of the Commission appealed against:

Provided that in case the Appellate Tribunal decision requires action by the Commission, it shall remand the case to the Commission for decision.

(9) After examining the appeal, the Appellate Tribunal shall assess the facts related to the impugned determination of the Commission. The Appellate Tribunal shall determine whether the establishment of the facts of the Commission was proper and whether the Commission's evaluation of those facts was unbiased and objective. The Appellate Tribunal shall base its determination on the official record maintained by the Commission or any other documents relied upon by the Commission in reaching the impugned determination.

(10) Where the Appellate Tribunal determines that the Commission's establishment of the facts was proper and its evaluation was unbiased and objective, it shall confirm the impugned determination of the Commission provided that the Appellate Tribunal is satisfied that in reaching its determination, the Commission complied with the relevant provisions of this Ordinance.

(11) The decision of the Appellate Tribunal shall be in writing, detailing the issues raised in the appeal and the arguments adopted by the appellant and the Commission. The Appellate Tribunal shall also provide reasons for reaching its decision with reference to the provisions of this Ordinance and the facts of the case.

(12) The Appellate Tribunal shall provide copies of its decision to all the appellants and respondents including the Commission no later than five days from the date of rendering its decision.

(13) The Appellate Tribunal may, if it deems necessary, require an appellant to provide security in such form as may be prescribed, at the time of filing of an appeal.

(14) The decision of the Appellate Tribunal shall be appealable in the High Court. The High Court shall decide the appeal within thirty days:

Provided that The Appellate Tribunal may, if it thinks fit, accept an application from any party to an appeal in which the Appellate Tribunal has rendered its decision, for a clarification of any of the issues raised by the Appellate Tribunal in its decision:

Provided further that such application shall specify the precise issue in respect of which a clarification is sought and give reasons as to why a clarification is necessary.

(15) The Appellate Tribunal shall only accept an application under the first proviso of sub-section (14) if it is satisfied that a material issue discussed in its decision requires further clarification or elaboration. The party likely to be adversely affected by such clarification shall also be issued a notice by the Appellate Tribunal:

Provided that no such application shall be accepted by the Appellate Tribunal later than thirty days of its decision.

(16) The Appellate Tribunal shall perform its functions under this Ordinance in accordance with such procedures as may be prescribed.

(17) A determination of the Commission shall be given full force and effect during the pendency of any appeal of such determination

(18) A person duly authorized by any party is entitled to appear, plead and act on behalf of that interested party before the Appellate Tribunal.

33. Power of the Appellate Tribunal to call for and examine record.--The Appellate Tribunal may call for and examine any records of an investigation conducted by the Commission and any other information or documents relied upon by the Commission in reaching a determination appealed against for the purpose of satisfying itself as to the legality or propriety of an impugned determination of the Commission.

PART XVI

MISCELLANEOUS

34. Power to make rules.--(1) The Federal Government may, in consultation with the Commission, by notification in the official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Ordinance.

(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for the manner in which any investigation may be conducted, the manner in which an investigated product may be identified, the factors to which regard shall be had in any such investigation, the manner of assessment, levy and collection of any countervailing duty, whether preliminary or definitive, and for all matters connected with an investigation.

35. Protection to persons prejudiced in employment because of assisting the Commission.--(1) An employer shall not--

(a) dismiss an employee, or prejudice an employee in his employment, because the employee has assisted the Commission in connection with an inquiry or investigation under this Ordinance; or

(b) dismiss or threaten to dismiss an employee, or prejudice or threaten to prejudice an employee in his employment, because the employee proposes to assist the Commission in connection with an inquiry or investigation under this Ordinance.

(2) For the purposes of sub-section (1), a person shall be taken to assist the Commission in connection with an inquiry if the person--

(a) gives information, whether orally or in writing, or gives documents, to the Commission in connection with an inquiry or investigation under this Ordinance; or

(b) gives evidence, or produces documents, at an inquiry, investigation or hearing held under this Ordinance.

36. Public file to be maintained for interested party and access thereto.--(1) The Commission shall establish and maintain a file relating to each investigation or review pursuant to this Ordinance and subject to the requirement to protect confidential information under Section 29. The Commission shall place in such file--

(a) all public notices relating to an investigation or review;

(b) all materials, including questionnaires, responses to questionnaires, and written communications submitted to the Commission;

(d) any other documents the Commission deems appropriate for disclosure to an interested party.

(2) The file to be maintained under sub-section (1) shall be available to any interested party for review and copying at the offices of the Commission, during such time as the Commission may specify, throughout the course of an investigation or review and any appeal under Section 32.

37. Official file to be maintained by the Commission.--(1) The Commission shall establish and maintain an official file relating to each investigation or review pursuant to this Ordinance and shall place in such file--

(a) all materials, papers and documents, confidential or otherwise, including questionnaires, responses to questionnaires, and written communications submitted to or by the Commission in connection with an investigation or review;

(b) all documents relating to or setting out any calculations made by the Commission in connection with an investigation or review;

(c) all internal correspondence or memoranda of the Commission relating to or in connection with an investigation or review that are relevant to the calculation of dumping margin or determination of injury including, any correspondence with or between any other Ministry, Division, department, agency or instrumentality of the Federal Government or any Provisional Government;

(d) any other information developed, obtained or relied on by the Commission in connection with an investigation or review; and

(e) any other document or information that the Commission deems appropriate for placing in the official file.

(2) The file to be maintained under sub-section (1) shall only be for the internal use of the Commission and for the Appellate Tribunal in connection with an appeal under Section 32.

38. Appointment of advisers and consultants.--(1) Subject to sub-section (2), the Commission may, employ and pay consultants, agents, technical, professional and other advisers, including bankers, economists, actuaries, accountants, lawyers and other persons to do any act required to be done in the exercise of its powers, the performance of its functions or for the better implementation of the purposes of this Ordinance.

(2) The decision to employ and the terms and conditions of employment of external advisers and consultants pursuant to sub-section (1) shall be made by the Commission in accordance with such policy guidelines as may be established by the Federal Government, in consultation with the Commission, from time to time.

39. Removal of difficulties.--The Federal Government may for the purpose of removing any difficulties in relation to any matters under this Ordinance, make such orders as may appear to it to be necessary for the purpose of removing the difficulty:

Provided that no such power shall be exercised after the expiry of two years from the commencement of this Ordinance.

40. Ordinance to override other laws.--The provisions of this Ordinance shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any other law for the time being in force:

Provided that this provision shall not apply on the National Tariff Commission Act, 1990 (VI of 1990).

THE FIRST SCHEDULE

[See Section 5(6) (a)]

ILLUSTRATIVE LIST OF EXPORT SUBSIDIES

1. In this Schedule, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,--

(a) “commercially available” means that the choice between domestic and imported products is unrestricted and depends only on commercial considerations;

(b) “direct taxes” means taxes on wages, profits, interests, rents, royalties and all other forms of income, and taxes on the ownership of real property;

(c) “cumulative indirect taxes” means indirect taxes which are multi-staged taxes levied where there is no mechanism for subsequent crediting of the tax if goods or services subject to tax at one stage of production are used in a succeeding state of production;

(d) “import charges” means tariffs, duties, and other fiscal charges that are levied on imports;

(e) “indirect taxes” means sales, excise, turnover, value added, franchise, stamp, transfer, inventory and equipment taxes, border taxes and all taxes other than direct taxes and import charges;

(f) “prior-stage indirect taxes'“ means those indirect taxes levied on goods or services used directly or indirectly in making a product;

(g) “remission” of taxes includes the refund or rebate of taxes; and

(h) “remission or drawback” includes the full or partial exemption or deferral of import charges:

Provided that deferral may not amount to an export subsidy where, for example, appropriate interest charges are collected.

2. The following is an illustrative list of export subsidies, namely:--

(a) any provision by a government of direct subsidies to a firm or an industry contingent upon export performance;

(b) currency retention schemes or any similar practices which involve a bonus on exports;

(c) internal transport and freight charges on export shipments, provided or mandated by a government, on terms more favourable than for domestic shipments;

(d) any provision by a government or its agencies either directly or indirectly through government-mandated schemes, of imported or domestic products or services for use in the production of exported goods, on terms or conditions more favourable than for provision of like or directly competitive products or services for use in the production of goods for domestic consumption, if, in the case of products, such terms or “ conditions are more favourable than those commercially available on world markets to their exporters;

(e) any full or partial exemption, remission, or deferral specifically related to exports, of direct taxes or social welfare charges paid or payable by industrial or commercial enterprises;

(f) any allowance of special deductions directly related to exports or export performance, over and above those granted in respect of production for domestic consumption, in calculation of the base on which direct taxes are charged;

(g) any exemption or remission, in respect of the production and distribution of exported products, of indirect taxes in excess of those levied in respect of production and distribution of like products when sold for domestic consumption;

(h) any exemption, remission or deferral of prior-stage cumulative indirect taxes on goods or services used in the production of exported products in excess of any exemption, remission or deferral of like prior-stage cumulative indirect taxes on goods or services used in the production of like products when sold for domestic consumption; provided, however, that prior-stage cumulative indirect taxes may be exempted, remitted or deferred on exported products even when not exempted, remitted or deferred on like products when sold for domestic consumption, if any prior-stage cumulative indirect taxes are levied on inputs that are consumed in the production of an exported product making normal allowance for waste. This clause shall be interpreted in accordance with the guidelines on consumption of inputs in a production process contained in the Second Schedule. For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of this clause shall not apply to value-added tax systems and border-tax adjustment in lieu thereof and the provisions of clause (g) shall exclusively cover issues relating to excessive remission of value-added taxes;

(i) any remission or drawback of import charges in excess of those levied on imported inputs that are consumed in the production of an exported product, making normal allowance for waste; provided, however, that in particular cases a firm may use a quantity of home market inputs equal to, and having the same quality and characteristics as, the imported inputs as a substitute for them in order to benefit from this provision if the import and the corresponding export operations both occur within a reasonable time period, not to exceed two years. This clause shall be interpreted in accordance with the guidelines on consumption of inputs in the production process contained in the Second Schedule and the guidelines in the determination of substitution drawback systems as export subsidies contained in the Third Schedule;

(j) any provision by a government or, special institutions controlled by a government, of export credit guarantee or insurance programmes, of insurance or guarantee programmes against increases in the cost of exported products or of exchange risk programmes, at premium rates which are inadequate to cover long-term operating costs and losses of the programmes;

(k) any grant by a government or special institutions controlled by or acting under the authority of a government, or both, of export credits at rates below those which they actually have to pay for the funds so employed or, would have to pay if they borrowed on international capital markets in order to obtain funds of the same maturity and other credit terms and denominated in the same currency as an export credit or, the payment by them of all or part of the costs incurred by exporters or financial institutions in obtaining credits, insofar as they are used to secure a material advantage in the field of export credit terms. Provided, however, that if a country which is a member of the WTO is a party to an international undertaking on official export credits to which at least twelve original such members are parties as of the first day of January, 1979, or, a successor undertaking which has been adopted by those original members, or if in practice a country which is member of the WTO applies the interest rates provisions of the relevant undertaking, an export credit practice which is in conformity with those provisions shall not be considered an export subsidy; and

(l) any other charge on a public account constituting an export subsidy in the sense of Article XVI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, 1994.

THE SECOND SCHEDULE

(See the First Schedule)

GUIDELINES ON CONSUMPTION OF INPUTS IN THE PRODUCTION PROCESS

1. For the purposes of this Schedule “inputs consumed in the production process” means inputs physically incorporated, energy, fuels and oil used in a production process and catalysts which are consumed in the course of their use to obtain an exported product.

2. Indirect tax rebate schemes can allow for exemption, remission or deferral of prior-stage cumulative indirect taxes levied on inputs that are consumed in the production of an exported product making normal allowance for waste. Similarly, drawback schemes can allow for the remission or drawback of import charges levied on inputs that are consumed in the production of an exported product making normal allowance for waste.

3. The illustrative list of export subsidies in the First Schedule makes reference to the term “inputs that are consumed in the production of the exported product” in clauses (h) and (i) of Para 2 thereof. Pursuant to clause (h) of Para 2 of the First Schedule, indirect tax rebate schemes can constitute an export subsidy to the extent that they result in exemption, remission or deferral of prior-stage cumulative indirect taxes in excess of the amount of such taxes actually levied on inputs that are consumed in the production of an exported product. Pursuant to clause (i) of Para 2 of the First Schedule, drawback schemes can constitute an export subsidy to the extent that they result in a remission or drawback of import charges in excess of those actually levied on inputs that are consumed in the production of an exported product. Both the said clauses stipulate that normal allowance for waste must be made in findings regarding consumption of inputs in the production of an exported product. Clause (i) of Para 2 of the First Schedule also provides for substitution, where appropriate.

4. In examining whether inputs are consumed in the production of an exported product, as part of a countervailing duty investigation pursuant to this Ordinance, the Commission should normally proceed on the following basis, namely:--

(a) where it is alleged that an indirect tax rebate scheme, or a drawback scheme, conveys a subsidy by reason of over-rebate or excess drawback of indirect taxes or import charges on inputs consumed in the production of an investigated product, the Commission shall normally first determine whether the government of an exporting country has in place and applies a system or procedure to confirm which inputs are consumed in the production of an exported product and in what amounts. Where such a system or procedure is determined to be applied, the Commission shall normally then examine the system or procedure to see whether it is reasonable and effective for the purpose intended, and based on generally accepted commercial practices in the country of export. The Commission may deem it necessary to carry out, in accordance with Section 26, certain practical tests in order to verify information or to satisfy itself that the system or procedure is being effectively applied;

(b) where there is no such system or procedure, or where it is not reasonable, or where it is instituted and considered reasonable but is found not to be applied or not to be applied effectively, a further examination by an exporting country based on the actual inputs involved will normally need to be carried out in the context of determining whether an excess payment occurred. If the Commission deems it necessary, a further examination may be carried out in accordance with clause (a) of this para;

(c) the Commission must normally treat inputs as physically incorporated if such inputs are used in the production process and are physically present in a product exported, and an input need not be present in a final product in the same form in which it entered the production process;

(d) in determining the amount of a particular input that is consumed in the production of an exported product, a “normal allowance for waste” must normally be taken into account by the Commission, and such waste must normally be treated as consumed in the production of an exported product. The term “waste” refers to that portion of a given input which does not serve an independent function in the production process, is not consumed in the production of an exported product, for reasons such as inefficiencies, and is not recovered, used or sold by the same manufacturer; and

(e) the Commission's determination of whether the claimed allowance for waste is ''normal” shall normally take into account the production process, the average experience of an industry in the country of export, and other technical factors, as appropriate. The Commission shall bear in mind that an important question is whether the authorities in an exporting country have reasonably calculated the amount of waste, when such an amount is intended to be included in a tax or duty rebate or remission.

THE THIRD SCHEDULE

[See the First Schedule and Second Schedule]

GUIDELINES IN THE DETERMINATION OF SUBSTITUTION DRAWBACK SYSTEMS AS EXPORT SUBSIDIES

1. Drawback systems can allow for refund or drawback of import charges on inputs which are consumed in a production process of another product and where export of this latter product contains domestic inputs having the same quality and characterises as those submitted for imported inputs. Pursuant to clause (i) of Para 2 of the First Schedule, substitution drawback systems can constitute an export subsidy to the extent that they result in an excess drawback of import charges levied initially on imported inputs for which drawback is being claimed.

2. In examining any substitution drawback system as part of a an investigation the Commission shall normally proceed on the following basis, namely:--

(a) clause (i) of Para 2 of the First Schedule stipulates that home market inputs may be substituted for imported inputs in the production of a product for export provided such inputs are equal in quantity to, and have same quality and characteristics as, imported inputs being substituted. The existence of a verification system or procedure is important because it enables the government of an exporting country to ensure and demonstrate that the quantity of inputs for which drawback is claimed does not exceed the quantity of similar products exported, in whatever form, and that there is no drawback of import charges in excess of those originally levied on imported inputs in question;

(b) where it is alleged that a substitution drawback system conveys a subsidy, the Commission shall normally first proceed to determine whether the government of an exporting country has in place and applies a verification system or procedure. Where such a system or procedure is determined to be applied, the Commission shall normally then examine the verification procedures to see whether they are reasonable and effective for the purpose intended, and based on generally accepted commercial practices in the country of export. To the extent that any procedures are determined to meet this test and are effectively applied, no subsidy will be presumed to exist. It may be deemed necessary by the Commission to carry out, in accordance with Section 26, certain practical tests in order to verify information or to satisfy itself that verification procedures are being effectively applied;

(c) where there are no verification procedures, or where they are not reasonable, or where such procedures are instituted and considered reasonable but are found not be actually applied or not be applied effectively, there may be a subsidy. In such cases, further examination by an exporting country based on actual transactions involved would need to be carried out to determine

[FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY]

Received application from ___________ on _________ at _______ hrs. Being relevant, the application forwarded to ______________ Department to provide the copies of the requested documents.

_________________

Office of Registrar

Department

[Observation, if any of the relevant Department]

The attached documents may be transmitted to the applicant after receiving the requisite fee.

____________

Department

Registrar Office

-------------------------

ORDER, 2015

DRAWBACK OF LOCAL TAXES AND LEVIES ORDER, 2015

[Gazette of Pakistan, Extraordinary, Part-II, 15^th May, 2015]

S. R.O. 415 (I)/2015.--In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 3 of the Imports and Exports (Control) Act, 1950 (XXXIX of 1950), and in Supersession of its Notification No. S.R.O. 177(I)/2015, dated the 27th February, 2015, the Federal Government is pleased to make the following Order, namely:--

1. Short title application and commencement.--(1) This Order may be called the Drawback of Local Taxes and Levies Order, 2015.

2. The drawback shall be available on annual basis on FOB-realized values of enhanced exports for shipments made during 2013-14, if increased beyond 10% over last year's exports i.e. 2012-13. The export performance shall be analyzed separately for each category of eligible products.

(3) It shall come into force at once.

2. Definitions.--In this order, unless there is anything repugnant to the context;

(a) “Annex” means an annexure to this Order;

(b) “Association/Chambers” means the association and chamber duly registered with the Directorate General of Trade Organization.

(c) “BSC” means SBP-Banking Services Corporation (SBP-BSC), a wholly owned subsidiary of State Bank of Pakistan, under the SBP Banking Services Corporation Ordinance, 2001 (LXVII of 2001);

(d) “Exporter” means any person with a valid NTN and registered with his respective association or chamber;

(e) “Forwarding Schedule” means reference under which the original application is submitted;

(f) “Nominated bank” means the SBP authorized Bank which is located in the vicinity of the concerned registered with the Directorate General of Trade Organizations;

(g) “SBP” means the State Bank of Pakistan; and

(h) “TDAP” means Trade Development Authority of Pakistan.

3. Eligibility.--(1) The drawback shall be provided to the exporters on export of products as specified in Annex-I, at the rate of 4% of FOB value of their enhanced exports.

(2) The exporter shall hold a valid NTN number and previous tax returns for two years.

(3) The exporter shall furnish data or any information related to its operations, domestic sales, accounts and exports as required by the Association/respective Chamber.

4. Role of association/respective Chamber.--(1) The Association/respective Chamber shall verify the authenticity of the information provided by the exporter as specified in Annex-II and Annex-III.

(2) The claim documents shall be verified by the chairman/president of the relevant association or bearer designated on his behalf.

(3) The authentication of claim by Association/respective chamber shall bear a unique reference number identifying the relevant Association/respective Chamber performing the authentication along with a running serial number of authentications performed by that office of Association/respective Chamber.

(4) The Association/respective Chamber shall also provide list of exporters registered with them to relevant Field Office of SBP BSC and FEOD SBP BSC head Office, Karachi on the following format:--

Sr. No.

NTN

Association/respective Chamber Special Identification No.

Name

Address

5. Procedure for claims.--The drawback for local taxes and levies shall be provided subject to the following conditions, namely:--

(i) the exporter shall file claims for drawback along with an undertaking as specified in Annex-II and III respectively and get this verified by-Association/respective Chamber;

(ii) the exporter shall nominate one authorized bank to submit the claims to the SBP - BSC. The Exporter shall also give undertaking to the effect that it has only nominated one bank of its choice and that the claims have not been submitted for the same shipment, through any other bank. All claims shall have the NTN of each exporter;

(iii) exporter shall submit the filled-in forms duly certified by the Association/respective Chamber along with supporting documents as mentioned in Annex-II, by 1st June, 2015 to the nominated authorized bank. No claims shall be accepted after 2nd June, 2015;

(iv) The nominated bank shall scrutinize the application carefully and upon verification, submit the same with an undertaking, on the format specified at Annex-IV, to the field offices of the SBP-BSC. Such applications shall be received by the said offices in the normal public dealing hours on all working days.

(v) the admissible drawback payment as approved by the field office of the SBP-BSC shall be made by crediting the account of the authorized banks, which shall pay the amount to the exporters within twenty-four hours thereafter;

(vi) in order to avoid delays or rejection of the drawback claims, the authorized banks, while certifying the documents shall ensure that the description of the commodity and Pakistan Custom Tariff code recorded in the form is correct and corresponds with the documents attached;

(vii) applications containing discrepancies shall be returned by the SBP to the authorized banks within thirty days from the date of submission of claims. The authorized banks, after rectification of the discrepancies, shall submit claims within twenty days. While re-submitting the applications, authorized banks shall quote the reference of the “forwarding schedule” under which the application was originally submitted. In case of non-submission within twenty days, the claims shall be rejected without any further process. The detailed guidelines for the banks would be issued by SBP BSC;

(viii) the claim certified by the Association/respective Chamber shall only be allowed from SBP offices that are located in the concerned city (e.g. the claims certified by Association/respective Chamber office Lahore will only be entertained at SBP BSC Lahore). The list of field offices which shall deal with claims under this scheme is at Annex-V; and

(ix) the applications shall be entertained on first come first serve basis. The discrepant claims shall be processed on the basis of the date they are re-submitted after corrections.

6. Periodic audits.--(1) The receipt of drawback payments shall be properly reflected in the book of accounts or balance sheets of the exporting unit.

7. Fraud and Penalty.--In case any fraud is detected in claiming the drawbacks under this Order, the Chief Executive, Trade Development Authority of Pakistan shall be the competent authority to levy fines and penalty up to 300% of the fraud penalty claimed account. The appellate Authority in this case shall be the Secretary Commerce.

8. Monthly Reports.--Associations shall submit to the Ministry of Commerce and Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) on a monthly basis a statement giving details of export consignments certified by them, for the purpose of drawbacks, giving description of goods with H.S. codes, amount, quantity and destination.

ANNEX-I

[See Paragraph 3(1)]

LIST OF SECTORS ELIGIBLE FOR DUTY DRAW BACK FOR LOCAL TAXES AND LEVIES SUPPORT

Sr. No.	Description	Chapters / sub-headings as per Pakistan Customs Tariff	Association/Chamber
1.	Fish and Fish Preparations	1603, 1604, 1605,03	Pakistan Fisheries Exporters Association
2.	Meat and meat preparation	1601, 1602 excluding 1602.9000 0201. 0202, 0204. 0206, 0207. 0208, 0210	Respective Chamber of Commerce & Industry
3.	Spices	0904, 0906, 0907, 0908, 0909, 0910	Respective Chamber of Commerce & Industry
4.	Gloves	4015.1100, 4015.1900, 4203.2100, 4203.2910, 4203.2920, 4203.2930, 4203.2990, 6116,6216, 7323.1000, 7418.1000,7615.1000	Pakistan Gloves Manufacturers and Exporters Association
5.	Footballs and Other sports goods	9506, 9507	Pakistan Sports Good Manufacturers Exporters Association
6.	Leather garments	4203	Pakistan Leather Garments Manufactures & Exporters Association
7.	Other Leather manufactures	4202.1120, 4202.2100. 4202.3100, 4202.9100	Respective Association/ Chamber of Commerce & Industry
8.	Leather Foot wear	64	Pakistan Footwear Manufacturers Association
9.	Surgical goods/ medical instruments	9018,9019,9020,9021,9022, 9025.1110	The Surgical Instrument Manufactures Association of Pakistan
10.	Cutlery	8211,8212,8213,8214,8215	Pakistan Cutlery & Stainless Utensils Manufactures & Exporters Association
11.	Electric Fans	8414.5110,8414.5120,8414.5130, 8414.5140, 8414.5190, 8414.5910	Pakistan Electric Fan Manufacturers Association
12.	Transport equipment and Auto Parts	4008.1110, 4008.1910, 4008.2110, 4008.2910, 4009.1110, 4009.1120, 4009.1130, 4009.2110, 4009.2120, 4009.2130, 4009.3110. 4009.3120, 4009.3130, 4009.4110. 4009.4120, 4009.4130, 4010.3110, 4010.3210, 4010.3310, 4010.3410, 4010.3510, 4010.3610, 4010.3910, 4011, 4016.9920, 4016.9930, 4016.9940, 5703.2020, 5703.2030, 5703.3020, 5703.3030, 6813, 7007.1111, 7007.1119, 7007.2111, 7007.2119, 7009.1010, 7009.1090, 7014.0010, 7014.0020, 7307.9120, 7315.7320, 8206, 8301.2010. 8301.2090, 8302.1010, 8302.1020, 8302.1030, 8302.3010. 86, 87, 88, 89, 9026.1010, 9026.1020, 9026.1030, 9029.2011, 9029.2012, 9029.2013. 9030.3310, 9030.3320, 9032.8910, 9032.8920, 9104, 9106.1010, 9106.1020, 9401 9402,9613.8010,9613.8020	Pakistan Association of Automotive Parts & Accessories Manufacturers. Pakistan Automotive Manufactures Association and Engineering Components and Machinery Manufacturing Association of Pakistan
13.	Machinery specified for a Particular industries or other machinery and Other electric equipment	84, 85	Engineering Components & Machinery Manufacturing Association of Pakistan
14.	Furniture	9403	All Pakistan Furniture Exporters Association and All Pakistan Furniture Makers Association

Annexure-II

[See Paragraph 4(1), 5 (i) & 5(iii)]

Application for Payment of Drawback of local Taxes and levies on Exports

Director FEOD, SBP BSC, Karachi/Chief Manager, SBP BSC ____________ (city)

Dear Sir,

I/We, M/s ______________ (Name & address of the exporter) having NTN No. _______________ and – the _____________ Association's/respective chamber's special identification No. ________ hereby apply for payment of Incentive of Rs. ______________ (Rupees) through our nominated Bank ---------- (Name of Bank).

We further enclose the following documents in support our claim: (all photocopies are to be attested by the relevant banks).

(a) Copy of Goods Declaration Form (in case of manual GD Form, containing examiner's report and MR date) Prescribed under the Customs Act, 1969

(b) Copy of Commercial/Custom Invoice for e-forms in case of having multiple categories

(d) Freight Invoice where applicable

(e) Undertaking by the Claimant (Annex- III)

(f) Bank Verification Certificate (Annex- IV)

(g) Detail of Export Proceeds (attested by relevant banks)

(To be filled by Applicant Banks) (to be filled by)

Sr. No.

E-Form #

Amount of E-Form (FCY)

Date of Shipment

HS Code

Description of goods

Quantity

Date of Realization

Value realized (FCY)

Rate of Exchange

Equivalent PKR

Freight, Commission Insurance (PKR)

Net FOB realized after deducting freight, insurance, commission, etc.

Name of Bank

Month

Schedule

Page

Sr.

Verification Signatures and Stamp of Association/respective chamber

Annex-III

[See Paragraph 4(1) & 5(i)]

SUBJECT:-- Undertaking by the Claimant

Dear Sir,

I/We, M/s ________________ (Name and address of the manufacturing unit) having NTN No. ___________ and the ___________ Association's/ respective chamber's special identification No. _________________ with the office at __________ hereby undertake that;

I. The Drawback of Rs. ___________________ claimed against FOB values of enhanced exports of the year 2013-14 increased beyond 10% over last year's exports i.e. 2012-13 based on shipment date as given below is genuine as per conditions of the Government Order on Drawback of Local Taxes and Levies 2014-15;

HS code	Description	Exports FY 2012-13	Exports FY 2013-14	Increment	Drawback





Total

Yours faithfully,

___________________________________

(Stamp and Signature of the Claimant)

Verification Signatures and Stamp of Association/respective chamber

Annex-IV

[See Paragraph 5(iv)]

Bank Certificate of Verification for Drawback on export of Value added Goods

This is to certify that Messers __________________ bearing Association's Registration No. __________________________ and NTN _______________ had exports realization through our bank on the shipments made during 2012-13 and 2013-14 as follows.

HS Code	Description	2012-13	2013-14





Total

The above information and form verified by the bank is genuine and complete in all respect as per conditions of the Government Order on Drawback of Local Taxes and Levies 2014-15.

We undertake that in case any discrepancy is detected subsequently, the SBP may debit the amount involved to our account along with penal interest @ 4% p.a. plus inter-bank rate on date of payment.

_____________________________________________

(Stamp & Signature of the Authorized Officials)

Annex-V

[See Paragraph 5(viii)]

LIST OF THE SBP BSC OFFICES DEALING WITH CLAIMS UNDER MOC INCENTIVE SCHEME

Sr. No.	Name of Office
1.	Faisalabad Office
2.	Gujranwala Office
3.	Hyderabad Office
4.	Karachi Office (FEOD SBP BSC HOK)
5.	Lahore Office
6.	Multan Office
7.	Peshawar Office
8.	Quetta Office
9.	Rawalpindi Office
10.	Sialkot Office
11.	Sukkur Office

------------------------------

REGULATIONS, 2015

RESEARCH ANALYST REGULATIONS, 2015

[Gazette of Pakistan, Extraordinary, Part-II, 17^th March, 2015]

S.R.O. 232 (I)/2015.--In exercise of powers conferred by Section 40 of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan Act, 1997 (XLII of 1997) read with clause (d) of sub-section (4) of Section 20 thereof and sub-section (4) of Section 15-E of Securities and Exchange Ordinance, 1969 (XVII of 1969) the following draft Regulations are hereby published for the information of all persons likely to be affected thereby and notice is hereby given that objections and suggestions, if any, received within thirty days of this publication in the official Gazette will be taken into consideration.

Any objection or suggestion which may be received from any person before the expiry of the said period shall be taken into consideration by the Commission.

CHAPTER I

PRELIMINARY

1. Short title and commencement.--(1) These Regulations shall be called the Research Analyst Regulations, 2015.

(2) They shall come into force at once.

2. Definitions.--(1) In these Regulations, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,--

(a) “Act” means the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan Act, 1997 (XLII of 1997);

(b) “Associate” means any partner, employee, officer or director of a Research Analyst;

(d) “Independent Research Analyst” means a Research Analyst whose only business activity is preparation and/or publication of Research Report;

(e) “Inspecting Authority” means any one or more persons appointed by the Commission to exercise powers conferred under Regulation 19;

(f) “Investment Advisor” means an NBFC licensed by the Commission to provide investment advisory services;

(g) “Non-banking finance companies (NBFCs)” means the companies as defined in Section 282-A(a) of the Companies Ordinance, 1984;

(h) “Ordinance” means Securities and Exchange Ordinance, 1969 (XVII of 1969);

(i) “Person” shall have the same meaning as defined in the Section 2(1)(j) of the Ordinance;

(j) “Price Target” means the fundamental value of the company derived by the Research Analyst;

(k) “Public Appearance” means any participation in a conference call, seminar, forum (including interactive and non-interactive electronic forum), radio or television or internet or web or print media broadcast, authoring a print media article or other public speaking activity in public media in which a Research Analyst or its Associate makes a recommendation or offers an opinion, concerning listed securities or a public offer;

(l) “Public media” means any media source available to the general public and includes a radio, television, internet, web or print media;

(m) “Research Analyst” means a Person who is involved in the preparation, writing and/or publication of a Research Report or the substance of a Research Report, or who makes a “buy/sell/hold” recommendation or gives a Price Target or offers an opinion (including an opinion or recommendation made in a Public Appearance by such Person or its Associate) concerning securities that are listed or to be listed at a stock exchange registered in Pakistan, whether or not any such person has the job title of Research Analyst, and includes any other entities engaged in issuance of Research Report;

(n) “Research Entity” means a Research Analyst who is an intermediary and also provide the following services along-with the issuance of a Research Report in its own name through the individuals employed by it as Research Analyst, and includes any other intermediary associated with the securities markets in any manner, also engaged in the issuance of Research Report:

(a) acting as an underwriter;

(b) participating in a selling or an offering for the issuer or otherwise acting in furtherance of a public offer of the issuer;

(d) providing or arranging venture capital or equity or debt;

(e) serving as placement agent for the issuer or otherwise acting in furtherance of a private offering of the issuer;

(f) offering brokerage services; and

(g) any other services as specified by the Commission.

(o) “Research Report” means a written or electronic communication which includes an analysis or opinion concerning listed securities or a public offer providing information reasonably sufficient upon which to base an investment decision, but does not include the following communications:

(i) comments on general trends in the securities market;

(ii) commentaries on economic, political or market conditions;

(iii) periodic reports or other communications prepared for unit holders of Mutual Funds or Collective Investment Schemes or clients of Investment Advisors;

(iv) internal communications that are not given to current or prospective clients;

(v) communications that constitute offer documents or prospectus that are circulated under a specific regulation;

(vi) statistical summaries of financial data of the companies;

(vii) technical analysis relating to the demand and supply in a sector or the index; and

(viii) any other communication which the Commission may specify from time to time.

(p) “Subject Company” includes the issuer or company whose securities or public offer are the subject of a Research Report or a Public Appearance; and

(q) “Third Party Research Report” means a Research Report produced by a person or entity other than the Research Analyst or Research Entity.

All other words and expressions used but not defined in these regulations shall have the same meanings as assigned to them under the Ordinance and the Act.

CHAPTER II

Registration

3. Prohibition.--No Person shall act as a Research Analyst or hold itself out as a Research Analyst unless such Person has obtained a certificate of registration as a Research Analyst from the Commission under these regulations:

Provided that a natural person performing functions of a Research Analyst under employment of a Research Entity shall not be required to be registered as Research Analyst under these regulations, but shall be subject to compliance of all the conditions and requirements applicable to a Research Analyst under these regulations:

Provided further that the credit rating companies, all non-banking finance companies with the exception of entities falling under the definition of Research Entity under these regulations, which issue Research Reports and circulate or distribute Research Reports to the general public or whose Associates make Public Appearance(s), shall not be required to seek registration under these regulations, subject to compliance of Chapter III of these regulations:

Provided further that a credit rating company or any non-banking finance company which prepares Research Reports with regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and the particular needs of any person or client shall not attract any provisions of these regulations.

Provided further that nothing contained in these regulations shall exempt any Person which is required to obtain a license of Investment Advisor under the Non-Banking Finance Companies and Notified Entities Regulations, 2008 and/or Non-Banking Finance Companies (Establishment and Regulation) Rules, 2003:

Provided further that any person or entity located outside Pakistan and engaged in the issuance of Research Report in respect of securities listed or proposed to be listed on a stock exchange registered in Pakistan, shall enter into an agreement with a Research Analyst registered under these regulations and it will be deemed that such Report has been issued by the Research Analyst and the Research Analyst will be responsible for the contents of the Research Report.

4. Eligibility criteria for registration.--(1) For the purpose of granting registration to a Research Analyst, the Commission shall take into account all matters which are relevant to the grant of such registration and in particular the following, namely:--

(i) in case the applicant is an individual, he/she is appropriately qualified and certified as specified in Regulation 5;

(ii) in case the applicant is a firm, partners engaged in issuance of Research Report are appropriately qualified and certified as specified in Regulation 5;

(iii) in case the applicant is a body corporate, all the individuals employed as Research Analyst with the applicant are appropriately qualified and certified as specified in Regulation 5;

(iv) the applicant has the necessary infrastructure to effectively discharge the activities of Research Analyst;

(v) the applicant has not been convicted of an offence involving fraud by the Court;

(vi) the applicant has not been penalized by the State Bank of Pakistan and/or the Commission for an amount of
Rs. 100,000/- or above; and

(vii) the applicant has satisfied the Commission that the reasons for an earlier refusal for grant of registration as a Research Analyst, if any, are no longer applicable; and

(viii) the applicant complies with, or meets, any other conditions or requirements imposed by the Commission as it deems necessary.

5. Qualification, experience or certification requirement.--An individual registered as a Research Analyst under these regulations, individuals employed as Research Analyst and partners of a Research Analyst, if any, engaged in preparation and/or publication of Research Report shall have the following minimum qualifications, at all times:

(a) A professional qualification or post-graduate degree in finance, accountancy, business management, commerce, economics, capital market and financial services provided by a university/institution/association recognized by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan or by a university/institution/ which is recognized by a foreign government; or

(b) three years of relevant experience which includes working in the research department of a company operating in the financial sector or capital market or experience in activities relating to securities or fund or asset or portfolio management; or

(c) any specialized certification covering the areas of capital market, as may be specified by the Commission through notification.

6. Application and procedure for registration.--(1) An application for obtaining a certificate of registration under these regulations shall be made to the Commission in Form I as specified in these regulations and shall be accompanied with:

(a) receipt evidencing payment of non-refundable fee as may be specified by the Commission through notification; and

(b) such other documents as may be required by the Commission.

(2) Any subsequent change in the information provided to the Commission at the time of filing of application under sub-regulation (1) shall be intimated to the Commission within a period of seven working days from the date of such change.

7. Grant of registration.--(1) The Commission oh being satisfied that the applicant complies with the requirements specified in Regulations 4 and 5, may grant certificate of registration to the applicant in Form II, subject to such conditions as the Commission may deem fit and appropriate.

(2) The certificate of registration shall remain valid for a period of five years from the date of issue unless it is restricted, suspended or cancelled earlier by the Commission.

8. Renewal of registration.--(1) A Research Analyst shall, three months prior to the date of expiry of its registration, apply to the Commission on the form specified by the Commission for renewal (Form I) of its registration along with receipt evidencing payment of a non-refundable renewal fee as may be specified by the Commission through notification, and such documents as the Commission may require in this regard.

(2) The Commission upon being satisfied that the applicant continues to meet the requirements for registration and is eligible for renewal shall renew the registration of the Research Analyst and issue a certificate to the applicant.

(3) Where the application for renewal of registration is made within such time as specified in sub-regulation (1) but has not been decided by the Commission, the certificate of registration shall continue to be valid until the application for renewal is decided by the Commission.

(4) While granting renewal of registration to a Research Analyst, the Commission may, in addition to the criteria laid down for grant of registration, also take into account the past performance of the Research Analyst.

9. Procedure where registration is not granted or renewed.--(1) The Commission, after giving a reasonable opportunity of hearing to the applicant, may refuse to grant or renew registration if in the opinion of the Commission such applicant does not fulfill the requirements specified in these regulations or where the Commission after taking into account the facts, is of the view that it is not in the public interest or in the interest of the capital market to grant or renew such registration.

(2) The Research Analyst whose application for renewal of registration is refused by the Commission under sub-regulation (1) shall, from the date of receipt of the decision of the Commission, cease to act as or perform the functions of Research Analyst.

CHAPTER III

CONFLICT AVOIDANCE AND DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS

10. Establishing Policies and Procedures.--(1) The Research Analyst shall have written internal policies and control procedures governing the dealing and trading by the Research Analyst or its Associates for:

(i) addressing actual or potential conflict of interest arising from such dealings or trading in securities of the Subject Company;

(ii) promoting objective and reliable research that reflects the unbiased view of Research Analyst; and

(iii) preventing the use of Research Report to manipulate the securities market.

(2) The Research Analyst shall have in place appropriate mechanisms to ensure independence of its research activities from its other business activities.

11. Limitations on Trading by the Research Analyst.--(1) Personal trading activities of the individuals employed as Research Analyst by a Research Entity shall be monitored, recorded and wherever necessary, shall be subject to a formal approval process.

(2) Independent Research Analysts, their Associates, individuals employed as Research Analyst by a Research Entity and their Associates shall not deal or trade in the securities which are covered in the Research Report, within thirty days before and five days after the publication of such Research Report.

(3) Independent Research Analysts, their Associates, individuals employed as Research Analysts by a Research Entity and their Associates shall not deal or trade directly or indirectly in securities that such Research Analyst reviews in a manner contrary to its given recommendation.

12. Restrictions on Research Analyst Compensation and Conduct of Business etc.--(1) The Research Entity shall ensure that compensation of the individual employed as Research Analyst is neither determined nor based on any other service(s) that the Research Entity is offering. This includes bonus, salary or any other form of compensation.

(2) An individual employed as a Research Analyst by the Research Entity shall not be subject to the supervision or control of any employee of its non-research departments, and no personnel engaged in providing non-research services may have any influence or control over the compensatory evaluation of such individual:

Provided that the factual accuracy of the information in the Research Report or potential conflict of interest may be reviewed by non-research personnel.

(3) The Research Analyst shall not provide any promise or assurance of favorable review in its Research Report to a company or industry or sector or group of companies or business group as consideration to commence or influence a business relationship or for the receipt of compensation or other benefits.

13. Limitations on Publication of Research Reports and Restrictions on Public Appearances by Research Analyst.--(1) The Research Analyst shall not submit a Research Report to the Subject Company before its publication:

Provided that some Sections of such a Research Report may be submitted to the Subject Company before its publication for review as necessary only to verify the factual accuracy of information in those Sections.

(2) The Research Analyst shall not issue Research Reports and it or its Associates shall not make Public Appearance(s) regarding a Subject Company for which the Research Analyst acted as a corporate advisor, underwriter or lead manager in a public offer from the date of its appointment till a period of 60 days from the date of completion of such offering.

(3) With the exception of Research Entities, the Research Analyst or individuals employed as Research Analyst by a Research Entity shall not participate in business activities designed to solicit non-research business, such as sales pitches and deal road shows.

14. Content in Research Reports.--(1) The Research Analyst shall have adequate documentary basis, supported by research, for preparing a Research Report.

(2) The Research Analyst shall ensure that facts in the Research Reports are based on reliable information and the source of such information is disclosed. Further the Research Analyst shall define the terms used in making recommendations and these terms should be used consistently.

(3) The Research Analyst shall disclose in the Research Report the valuation methods used to determine the Price Target, if any, that has a reasonable basis and shall be accompanied by a disclosure concerning the risk that may impede achievement of the Price Target.

(4) The Research Analyst that employs a rating system must clearly define in each Research Report the meaning of each rating in the system, including the time horizon and any benchmarks on which a rating is based.

15. Disclosures in Research Reports.--(1) If the Research Analyst acts as a market marker in the securities of a Subject Company, the fact shall be disclosed.

(2) The Research Analyst shall disclose:

(i) if the Research Analyst or any of its Associates or a close relative of the Research Analyst has a financial interest in the debt or equity securities of the Subject Company and the nature of such interest, provided such interest (actual/beneficial) aggregates to an amount exceeding 1% of the value of the equity or debt securities of the Subject Company at the time of issuance of the Research Report;

(ii) if the Research Analyst or any of its Associates or a close relative of the Research Analyst serves as a director or executive of the Subject Company;

(iii) if the Research Analyst or any of its Associates received compensation from the Subject Company in the previous 12 months;

(iv) if the Subject Company currently is, or during the 12-month period preceding the date of publication or distribution of the Research Report, was, a client of the Research Analyst;

(v) if a Research Analyst has managed or co-managed a public offering or any takeover, buyback or delisting offer of securities for the Subject Company in the past 12 months and/or received compensation for corporate advisory services, brokerage services or underwriting services from the Subject Company in the past 12 months;

(vi) if a Research Analyst expects to receive or intends to seek compensation for corporate advisory services, brokerage services or underwriting services from the Subject Company in the next three months;

(vii) any other material conflict of interest of the Research Analyst which has the ability to influence the content of a Research Report, that the Research Analyst knows or has reason to know at the time of the publication or distribution of a Research Report.

Explanation; For the purpose of this regulation, the term “close relative” shall mean the spouse(s) and lineal ascendant(s) and descendant(s) of the Research Analyst.

(3) All the disclosures under these regulations shall also be made by a Research Analyst and its Associates in Public Appearance(s).

(4) The Research Analyst and its Associates shall not be required to make a disclosure to the extent such disclosure would reveal material non-public information regarding specific potential corporate advisory, brokerage or underwriting service transactions of the Subject Company.

16. Distribution of Research Reports.--(1) A Research Report shall not be distributed selectively to internal trading personnel or a particular client or class of clients in advance of other clients that are entitled to receive the Research Report.

(2) A Research Analyst who distributes any Third Party Research Report shall review the Third Party Research Report for any untrue statement of material fact or any false or misleading information.

(3) A Research Analyst who distributes any Third Party Research Report shall disclose any material conflict of interest of such third party research provider or it shall provide a web address that directs a recipient to the relevant disclosures.

CHAPTER IV

GENERAL OBLIGATIONS

17. General Responsibilities.--The Research Analyst shall act in a fiduciary capacity towards its clients and shall disclose all conflicts of interests as and when they arise and suitably address the same.

18. Maintenance of Records.--(1) The Research Analyst shall maintain the following records:

(i) Research Reports prepared;

(ii) Research recommendations provided, whether written or oral;

(iii) Rationale for arriving at research recommendations;

(iv) Record of Public Appearances.

(2) All records shall be maintained either in physical or electronic form and preserved for a minimum period of five years.

(3) The Research Analyst shall conduct an annual audit in respect of compliance with these regulations from a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan.

(4) The audit report shall accordingly be furnished to the Commission.

CHAPTER V

INSPECTION

19. The Commission may suo motu or upon receipt of information or complaint appoint one or more persons as Inspecting Authority to undertake inspection of the books of accounts, records and documents relating to a Research Analyst for any of the following reasons, namely:--

(i) to ensure that the books of account, records and documents are being maintained in the manner specified in these regulations;

(ii) to inspect into complaints received from any person, on any matter having a bearing on the activities of a Research Analyst;

(iii) to ascertain whether the provisions of these regulations are being complied with by the Research Analyst; and

(iv) to inspect into the affairs of the Research Analyst in relation to research activities, in the interest of the securities market or in the interest of investors.

20. Notice before inspection.--(1) Before ordering an inspection under Regulation 19 the Commission shall give not less than seven days’ notice to the Research Analyst.

(2) During the course of an inspection, the Research Analyst against whom the inspection is being carried out shall be bound to discharge its obligations as provided in these regulations.

21. Submission of report to the Commission.--The Inspecting Authority shall, as soon as possible, on completion of the inspection, submit an inspection report to the Commission:

Provided that if directed to do so by the Commission, the Inspecting Authority may submit an interim report.

22. Action on the inspection report.--The Commission may after consideration of the inspection report and after giving reasonable opportunity of hearing to the Research Analyst or its Associates, without prejudice to any other action under the Act, issue such directions as it deems fit in the interest of securities market or the investors including the following:

(i) requiring the Research Analyst to refund any money collected as fees, charges or commissions or otherwise to the concerned clients along with the requisite interest; and

(ii) prohibiting the Research Analyst from operating in the capital market or accessing the capital market for a specified period.

CHAPTER VI

DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS

23. Restriction or Suspension of Registration.--(1) Where a Research Analyst or any other entity on which any section of these regulations is applicable, fails to comply with or contravenes the applicable provisions of these regulations or is not in compliance with conditions of registration or any directive issued or order passed by the Commission, the Commission may, after providing a reasonable opportunity of representation to such Research Analyst or entity, impose:

(a) a restriction on its activities as Research Analyst or suspend it registration; and/or

(b) a penalty provided under Section 40-A of the Act.

(2) A Research Analyst whose registration has been suspended shall not act as or perform the functions of a Research Analyst during the period of suspension and remove the causes of suspension within a period of one hundred and twenty days from the receipt of the suspension order or such earlier period as provided through the order of suspension.

(3) The Commission while imposing restrictions or suspending the registration of the Research Analyst may impose such conditions, as it deems appropriate.

24. Cancellation of Registration.--(1) The Commission, after providing a reasonable opportunity of hearing, may cancel the registration of a Research Analyst if,--

(a) in the opinion of the Commission, the Research Analyst has been in violation of any restriction imposed under sub-regulation (1) of Regulation 23;

(b) it is found guilty of fraud; or

(c) its registration has been suspended and the causes of suspension have not been removed within one hundred and twenty days from the receipt of suspension order or such earlier period as provided through the order of suspension; or

(d) refuses or fails to pay a penalty, if any, imposed by the Commission; or

(e) refuses or fails to apply for renewal of its registration with in the time as specified in these regulations.

(2) The Commission while cancelling the registration of the Research Analyst may take such measures and issue such directions as it deems appropriate and which are not inconsistent with the Act and the Ordinance.

(3) The registration of the Research Analyst shall stand automatically cancelled if such Research Analyst voluntarily surrenders its certificate of registration to the Commission.

(4) Upon cancellation of the registration, the Research Analyst shall forthwith cease to act as or perform the functions of Research Analyst.

25. Compliance and Enforcement Mechanism for the Research Analyst.--A Research Analyst must,--

(a) establish compliance procedures on a regular basis to ensure that the procedures reflect current laws and provide adequate guidance to its employees about what is permissible conduct;

(b) continuously monitor and audit the effectiveness of compliance procedures and keep the Associates updated with any changes in these procedures;

(d) monitor the personal trading activities of its Associates.

FORM I

[See Regulations 6(1) and 8(1) of the Research Analyst Regulations, 2015]

Application for Grant of Certificate for Registration/Renewal as a Research Analyst to the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan

INSTRUCTIONS

1. This form is meant for use by the applicant for grant of certificate for registration/renewal as a Research Analyst.

2. The applicant should complete this form, and submit it, alongwith all supporting documents to the Commission at its head office at Islamabad.

3. This application form should be filled in accordance with these regulations.

4. The application shall be considered by the Commission provided it is complete in all respects.

5. All answers must be legible and all the pages must be numbered with signature/stamp on each page of the form.

6. Information which needs to be supplied in more detail may be given on separate sheets which should be attached to the application form and appropriately numbered.

7. The application must be signed.

8. The application must be accompanied by an application (registration/renewal) fees as specified in these regulations.

1. GENERAL INFORMATION

(a) Name, address of the registered office, address for correspondence and principal place of business, telephone number(s), fax number(s), e-mail address of the applicant.

(b) Whether application is for registration/renewal. Provide registration number if the application is for renewal of certificate.

(d) Legal structure of applicant - Whether the applicant is an individual, partnership firm or a body corporate.

(e) Whether the applicant is a bank/Non-Bank Finance Company.

(f) Whether the applicant is registered with the Commission in any capacity. If so, details of such registration.

2. DETAILS OF APPLICANT

(a) Name(s) and number(s) of the applicant and its partner(s) or employee(s) (hereafter referred to as “representatives”) who shall engage in research analysis under these regulations on behalf of the applicant.

(b) Declaration by the applicant that he/she/its representatives mentioned in (a) above meet the educational/certification/experience requirements mentioned in these regulations for the purposes of registration/renewal as a Research Analyst:

(Please provide self-certified copies of supporting documents).

(c) Declaration by the applicant that he/she/it shall ensure compliance by himself/herself/its representatives with the qualification/experience/certification requirements under these regulations at all times.

(d) In case the applicant is an individual, enclose identity proof (CNIC) and address proof of the applicant.

(e) In case the applicant is a company, shareholding pattern and profile of the directors (Enclose identity proof (CNICs) and address proof of the directors).

(f) If applicant is a bank, then copy of approval from the State Bank of Pakistan for undertaking research activity.

(g) In case applicant is a partnership firm, names and beneficial ownership pattern of the partners engaged/proposed to engage in research analysis (Enclose identity proof (CNICs) and address proof of the partners).

(h) In case applicant is a body corporate (other than company), shareholding pattern and profile of the directors (Enclose identity proof (CNICs) and address proof of the directors).

(i) In case applicant is a body corporate (other than company), whether the applicant is set up or established under the relevant laws and whether the applicant is permitted to carry on of the activity of a Research Analyst (Enclose relevant extract of the relevant Statute/Act).

3. DETAILS OF INFRASTRUCTURE

(a) Details of office space, office equipment, furniture and fixtures, communication facilities, research capacity, research software for undertaking research analysis.

(b) Declaration that the applicant has the necessary infrastructure to effectively discharge the activities of Research Analyst.

4. OTHER INFORMATION / DECLARATIONS / REGULATORY ACTIONS

(a) Details of all settled and pending disputes in the last 5 years.

(b) Whether any previous application for grant of registration/renewal made by any person directly or indirectly connected with the applicant has been rejected by the Commission; If yes, provide details of the same.

(c) Whether any disciplinary action has been taken by the Commission or any other regulatory authority against any person directly or indirectly connected with the applicant under the Act or the regulations made there under in the last 5 years. If yes, provide details of the action.

(d) Whether the applicant/ its directors/promoters/ partners have been indicted/involved in any economic offence in the last 5 years. If yes, provide details of the same.

(e) Any other information considered relevant to the nature of services to be rendered by the applicant.

5. DECLARATION STATEMENT

I/We hereby agree and declare that the information supplied in the application, including the attachment sheets, is complete and true.

AND I/ we further agree that, I/we shall notify the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan immediately of any change in the information provided in the application.

I/We further agree that I/ we shall comply with, and be bound by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan Act, 1997, and the Research Analyst Regulations, 2015 made thereunder, and any guidelines/instructions as may be announced by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan from time to time.

I/We further agree that as a condition of registration, I/we shall abide by such operational instructions/directives as may be issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan from time to time.

For and on behalf of ______________________________________
(Name of the applicant)

Authorized signatory/ Applicant ___________________________
(Signature)

(Date and Place) _________________________________________

Form II

[See Regulation 7(1) and 8(1) of the Research Analyst
Regulations, 2015]

Certificate of Registration/Renewal as a Research Analyst

I. In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (4)(d) of Section 20 of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan Act, 1997, read with the regulations made there under, the Commission hereby grants a certificate of registration/renewal to ______________________________ as a Research Analyst subject to the conditions specified in the Act and in the regulations made thereunder.

II. The Registration Number of the Research Analyst is RA _______________.

III. Unless renewed, the certificate of registration/renewal is valid from ____________ to ______________.

Date:

By Order

Sd/-

For and on behalf of
Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan

------------------------------

RULES, 2014

NATIONAL HIGHWAYS AND MOTORWAY POLICE DRIVERS LICENCING AUTHORITY RULES, 2014

[Gazette of Pakistan, Extraordinary, Part-II, 20^th March, 2015]

S.R.O. 37(KE)/2015, dated 29.12.2014. In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (q) of sub-section (2) of Section 90 read with Section 17 of the National Highways Safety Ordinance, 2000 (XL of 2000), the Federal Government is pleased to make the following rules, namely:--

1. Short title and commencement.--(1) These Rules shall be called the National Highways and Motorway Police Drivers Licencing Authority Rules, 2014.

(2) These shall come into force at once.

2. Definitions.--(1) In these Rules, unless the context otherwise requires.

(a) “Applicant” means a person applying for a licence or permit;

(b) “Biometrics” means the thumb impression and finger prints or any other legally approved method of establishing identity of the applicant through digital means;

(d) DLA means the National Highways and Motorway Police, Drivers Licencing Authority established under the Ordinance;

(e) “Digital Photograph” means picture of the applicant captured in person through the authorized system of the DLA at the premises through digital camera to be printed on the driving licence;

(f) “Digital Record” means information of the applicant recorded in the computerized database as per First, Second, Third and Fourth Schedules of the Ordinance;

(g) “Driver” means any person driving a vehicle with a valid driving licence issued by DLA or other competent authorities under the relevant law;

(h) “Forms” means Data Forms as specified in the First, Second, Third and Fourth Schedules of the Ordinance;

(i) “Fee” means the prescribed amount to be deposited by the applicant in specified account head of Federal Government for issuance of licences and permits under these rules;

(j) “HTV Licence” means the document issued by DLA to an applicant to drive the specific class of Heavy Transport Vehicle;

(k) “International Driving Permit” means the document issued by DLA authorizing the applicant to drive a vehicle, of a specified class;

(l) “LTV Licence” means the document issued by DLA to an applicant to drive the specific Light Transport Vehicle;

(m) “Learner's Driver Permit” means the document issued by DLA authorizing the applicant to drive a vehicle of a specified class for learning purposes;

(n) “Licence” means the document issued by a licencing authority to drive a Motor Vehicle of a specified class or description;

(o) “Medical Test” means medical examination conducted by an authorized Medical examiner to ascertain the physical and mental fitness of the applicant to drive a vehicle;

(p) “Ordinance” means the National Highways Safety Ordinance, 2000 (XL of 2000);

(q) “Police” means the National Highways and Motorway Police;

(r) “PSV endorsment” means the endorsement on a licence by the authority to an applicant to drive specified Public Service Vehicle; and

(s) “Tests” means the theoretical and practical driving test of the applicant conducted by DLA;

(2) The terms used but not defined herein shall have the same meanings as are assigned to them under the Ordinance.

3. Drivers Licencing Authority.--The DLA, for the purpose of these rules shall be the Senior Superintendent or Superintendent of Police authorized by the Inspector General of Police.

4. Types of Licences or Permits.--The DLA may issue Driver Licences or Permits for following categories or to the following categories of persons, namely:--

(a) Learner's Driver Permit;

(b) Motorcycle or Motor car or Jeep;

(d) Heavy Transport Vehicle (HTV);

(e) Special Person's Modified Vehicles;

(f) Diplomats;

(g) Foreigners;

(h) International Driver Permits; and

(i) Agriculture and Construction Machinery.

5. Documents required for different categories of Licences or Permits.--(1) It shall be mandatory for all applicants for all categories of licences to provide following documents, namely:--

(a) Valid copy of CNIC;

(b) original receipt of payment of Fee in the prescribed bank account;

(d) a personal copy of the latest official version of the Highways and Motorways Code at the time of theoretical test.

6. Minimum age for issuance of driver Licence or Permit.--The following shall be the minimum age for applying for different categories of Licences or Permits, namely:--

(a) for Motorcycle, Motorcar, Jeep or any licence---18 years;

(b) for LTV licence---21 years;

(d) for applying for PSV licence-----25 years;

7. Validity for different kinds of Licences or Permits.--The following shall be the validity period for different categories of Licences and permits, namely:--

(a) Learner's driving permit of Motorcycle or Motorcar or LTV or HTV or Motor Cab or PSV or LTV or PSV or HTV or PSV or Tractor (Agriculture) shall be valid for six months, however the applicant can appear for practical driving test after forty two days;

(b) Learner's driving permit of construction machinery shall be valid for one year, however the applicant can appear for practical driving test after six month;

(d) Diplomats Driving Licence shall be issued for the duration of diplomatic card;

(e) International Driving Permit shall be valid for one year;

(f) all other categories of Driving Licences issued under these rules other than PSV licences shall be valid for five years;

(g) PSV Licences shall be valid for three years unless otherwise provided in these rules; and

(h) Drivers Licence issued by any other licencing authorities shall remain valid and acceptable licence till the time of validity mentioned in that Licence.

8. Learner's Driver Permit.--A separate Learner Driver's permit shall be required for each type of Motor Vehicle. The applicant having a Learner's Driver Permit can appear in the practical driving test for issuance of Driver Licence after forty two days of the issuance of the Learner's Driver Permit. The applicant of learner's Driver Permit shall pass the theoretical test. In case of failing in the the-oretical test the applicant shall reappear for theoretical test after fourteen days. Instructions for Learner's Driver during the Learner period are contained in Schedule-II.

9. Driver Licence for Special Persons.--A special person is eligible to apply for a CDL for a specific type of vehicle, suitably modified in accordance with his needs. The applicant shall provide a special person's CNIC. The medical examiner should be satisfied about the fitness of the applicant to safely drive the modified type of vehicle.

10. Light Transport Vehicle (LTV).--The applicant for a LTV Driver Licence must possess a three years old valid Motorcar or Jeep driver licence. An applicant having a valid LTV Driver Licence from any other licencing authority, is eligible for issuance of LTV CDL, subject to verification from concerned licencing authority, and after successfully undertaking the driving and medical examination test.

11. Heavy Transport Vehicle (HTV).--The Heavy Transport Vehicle (HTV) licences shall be of the following categories, namely:--

(A) HTV Category-A (more than fourteen (14) wheeler)

(a) The applicant shall possess a CDL HTV Category-B issued, at least one year prior to applying for CDL HTV Category-A learner's driver permit;

(b) the applicant shall be required to qualify the prescribed test for issuance of category-A CDL HTV Licence;

(c) in case of applicant with driver licence issued by other districts, the verification of the licence from the issuing authority shall be mandatory before issuance of CDL HTV Category-A driver licence; and

(B) HTV Category-B (up to Fourteen (14) wheeler)

(a) The applicant must possess at least three years old CDL valid LTV driver licence prior to applying for HTV Category-B learner's driver permit;

(b) the applicant shall be required to qualify the prescribed driving test for issuance of category-B CDL HTV; and

(c) in case of applicant with driver licence issued by other licencing authorities, the verification of the licence from the issuing authority shall be mandatory before issuance of CDL HTV Category-B driving licence.

12. PUBLIC SERVICE VEHICLE (PSV).--(1) The Public Service Vehicle (PSV) shall be an endorsement on the regular licences. There shall be four categories of PSV, namely:--

(a) an applicant applying for a Motor-Cab and Taxi PSV Category-D CDL must possess one year old valid motor car or jeep licence;

(b) an applicant applying for issuance of LTV PSV Category-C CDL (LTV with up to eight passengers capacity excluding the driver) must possess one year old valid LTV Licence issued;

(c) an applicant applying for issuance of LTV PSV Category-B CDL (LTV up to twenty two passengers capacity) must possess one year old valid PSV LTV with up to eight passengers capacity excluding the driver) licence; and

(d) an applicant applying for issuance of HTV PSV Category-A CDL (HTV with more than twenty two passengers capacity excluding the driver) must possess one year old PSV LTV Category-B CDL (up to twenty two passengers capacity excluding the driver).

(2) An applicant applying for issuance of PSV Categories A,B,C and D must have one year old valid driver licence in the relevant category issued by DLA or licencing authority; subject to verification from licencing authority and successfully undertaking the prescribed driving and medical examination test as provided under these rules.

13. Construction or Agricultural Machinery.--The applicant must possess at least one year old CDL HTV Category-B driver licence for applying for this licence. In case of applicant with driver licence issued by other licencing authority, the verification of the licence from the issuing authority shall be mandatory before issuance of CDL. The applicant must possess machinery operating certificate from a machinery training institute authorized by DLA. The applicant shall qualify specified practical driving test for issuance of regular driver licence.

14. CDL issuance to Diplomats.--(1) The diplomats may apply for a CDL without undergoing the theoretical or practical driving tests subject to provision of following documents, namely:--

(a) Note Verbal from Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Islamabad;

(b) passport having valid Pakistan visa (in original) alongwith its copy;

(d) copy of driver's licence of country of origin.

15. CDL issuance to applicants with overseas licence.--The applicants may apply for a CDL without undergoing the theoretical or practical driving tests subject to provision of the following documents, namely:--

(a) in case of Pakistan, Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC) or National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistan (NICOP) or Pakistan origin Card;

(b) in case of foreign nationals, valid passport of country of origin, valid Pakistani visa and letter from his employer; and

16. International Driver Permit (IDP) For Pakistani Nationals.--(1) The applicants possessing a valid CDL shall be eligible to apply for international driver permit, for same category of vehicles for which the CDL was issued.

(2) The application for an IDP shall be accepted only after submission of verified copy of a valid passport and visa.

17. Medical and Physical fitness test.--(1) The applicant shall clear the medical fitness test to be conducted by the Medical Examiner as per requirement of Form-A (iii) First Schedule of the Ordinance. The Medical Examiner shall satisfy himself about the fitness of the applicant to drive safely.

(2) In case of applicant requiring renewal of LTV or HTV or PSV Licences, a fresh medical test shall be conducted.

(3) person above the age of sixty years shall be required to undergo fresh Medical test by the Medical Examiner at the time of every renewal.

18. Practical driving test.--(1) After completion of Learner Driver Permit period the applicant shall appear for practical driving test as described in Schedule III.

(2) Practical Driving test shall be conducted by a committee of the DLA or its member.

(3) The applicant may use private vehicle for practical driving test. However the vehicle being used for this purpose must be of the same Category of vehicle for which the licence has been applied i.e. Motorcycle or Motorcar or Jeep or LTV or HTV or PSV.

(4) “L” plates should be displayed on the front and rear screens of the vehicle. The examiner shall check the fitness certificate of the vehicle before conducting test and shall ensure that the vehicle is road worthy and that the indicators, lights and breaks are fully functional.

(5) Special Person may use his or her own special or modified vehicle for practical driving test. “L” plates should be displayed on the front and rear screens of the vehicle. Moreover, sign or sticker of disabled person should also be displayed on the front and rear of the vehicle.

(6) In case an applicant fails the driving test thrice, the applicant shall apply afresh and shall deposit full fee for learner's driver permit.

19. Licence Renewal.--On expiry, a new CDL shall be issued on request to the applicant as per Section 11 of the Ordinance on form E after payment of requisite Fee.

20. Licence addition.--Any person holding a CDL under one category of vehicles may apply for addition of any other category of vehicle as per Section 8 of the Ordinance on Form “D”.

21. Duplicate Licences.--A duplicate permit or licence shall be issued on application after payment of prescribed Fee for the relevant permit or licence.

22. Cancellation of Licence on grounds of disease or disability.--The DLA may cancel a driving licence under Section 12 of the Ordinance.

23. Power of Licencing Authority to disqualify for holding a Licence.--(1) The DLA may disqualify a person for a specified period under Section 14 of the Ordinance.

24. CDL issuance and renewal Fees.--(1) The Fees shall be charged from different categories of applicants as per Schedule-I of these Rules;

(2) The Fee shall be payable for issuance and renewal of driver licence under these rules.

(3) The prescribed Fee shall be paid in advance in accordance with the instructions notified by Government from time to time.

(4) Fee on account of issuance or renewal of all categories of licences shall be deposited in the treasury through National Bank of Pakistan in Head of Account C02037 duly filled on Form “32 A”.

25. Special Delivery of Licence.--To facilitate the citizens and to ensure veracity of mailing address, the driving licence shall only be delivered through courier service on the mailing address mentioned in CNIC. In case of any change in mailing address, the new address should be incorporated in NADRA database.

SCHEDULE I

(See Rule 24)

(a) FEE FOR ISSUANCE OF DRIVER LICENCES/PERMITS:

i. Learner's Driver Permit. Rs. 300/-

ii. Driver Licence. Rs. 600/-

iii. International Driver permit. Rs. 800/-

iv. Driver Licence on urgent basis. Rs. 1000/-

(b) FEE FOR RENEWAL OF DRIVER LICENCE :

i. Renewal of Driver Licence within
30 days after expiry Rs. 600/-

ii. Urgent Renewal of Driver Licence. Rs. 1000/-

iii. Renewal of Learner's Driver licence. Rs. 100/-

iv. Renewal of Driver Licence after
30 days but within one year from
the date of expiry of the licence Rs. 700/-

v. Renewal of Licence after One year
of expiry of driving Licence but
within three years from the date
of expiry of the licence Rs. 1000/-

vi. Duplicate Driver Licence Rs. 600/-

vii. Duplicate Learner's Driving Permits Rs.100/-

viii. Conversion of other District DL Rs. 600/-

ix. Addition/Endorsement of class Rs. 600/-

SCHEDULE II

(See Rule 8)

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR HOLDERS OF LEARNER'S DRIVER PERMIT

(a) The Person holding learner's Driver permit is not allowed to drive on “A” Category roads / Highways and Motorways;

(b) The Person holding Learner's Driver Permit can only drive a vehicle under the supervision of a valid licence holder having at least three (03) Years of driving experience;

(c) A Learner's Driver Permit holder must paste Red colored alphabet “L” on the front and rear screens while driving a vehicle;

(d) The person holding a Learner's Driver Permit shall drive the car at extreme left of the road;

SCHEDULE III

(See Rule 18)

PROCEDURE OF DRIVING TEST:

After completion of Learner's Driver Permit period the applicant would have to appear for Driving test described as below:

(1) THEORETICAL TEST:

The theoretical test would be conducted in accordance with Section 6 (6) of NHSO-2000 on touch screen format consisting of following two parts:

(a) SIGNS TEST

The applicant must correctly answer 9 out of 10 questions as per the requirements of Seventh Schedule of National Highways Safety Ordinance (NHSO)-2000.

(b) RULES TEST

The applicant must correctly answer 7 out of 10 questions to qualify the Rules test.

* The applicant must complete the sign and the Rules test in 10 minutes. An audio facility would be available for applicants on request.

The applicant failing theory test can re-appear after 14 days for theory test.

(2) PRACTICAL DRIVING TEST-I:

(a) The applicant shall qualify a practical driving test showing driving proficiency specially starting, stopping, turning, parking and reversing the vehicle;

(b) The applicant failing practical driving test-1 cannot re-appear before 14 days;

(d) The applicant may use his own vehicle for practical driving test. “L” plates should be displayed on the front and rear screens of the vehicle. The examiner shall check true fitness certificate of the vehicle before conducting test, shall ensure that the vehicle is road worthy and that the indicators, lights and breaks are fully functional;

(e) For special persons/disabled drivers, “sign/sticker” should be displayed on the front and rear of the vehicle;

(3) PRACTICAL DRIVING TEST-II:

(a) The applicant shall qualify on-road test demonstrating not only required driving skills/etiquettes but also adherence to all traffic Rules and signs etc;

(b) The applicant failing road test cannot re-appear before 14 days. The applicant however would not be required to re-appear in practical test-I;

(c) The applicant disqualifying this test three times would be required to undergo the whole process again after depositing the prescribed fee for regular licence;

(d) The applicant may use his own vehicle for practical test. “L” plates should be displayed on the front and rear screens of the vehicle. The examiner shall check the fitness certificate of the vehicle before conducting test, shall ensure that the vehicle is road worthy and that the indicators, lights and breaks are fully functional;

(e) For special persons disabled drivers sign/sticker should be displayed on the front and rear of the vehicle.

SCHEDULE-IV

CATEGORY OF VEHICLES

(a) Motorcycle Up to 125-Cc and More than
125-Cc.

(b) Jeep/Car/Mini Van Maximum Mass not exceeding
3500 kg.

(c)      Motor Cab/Mini               Maximum Mass not exceeding
Vans (PSV)                      3500kg. seating capacity upto
                                       8 passengers in addition to
                                       driver.

(d) LTV (Light Transport Above 3500 kg. with
Vehicle) seating capacity up to 22.

(e) LTV (PSV) Above 3500 kg. with Seating capacity up to 22.

(f) HTV (Heavy Transport
Vehicle) Up to 40000 kg.

(g) HTV (Heavy Transport
Vehicle) More than 40000 kg.

(h) HTV (PSV) seating capacity more than 22.

-----------------------

REGULATIONS, 2015

SUBSCRIBERS ANTECEDENTS VERIFICATION REGULATIONS, 2015

[Gazette of Pakistan, Extraordinary, Part-II, 30^th March, 2015]

S.R.O. 480(I)/2015, dated 8.3.2015.--In exercise of the powers conferred under clause (o) of sub-section (2) of Section 5 of the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organization) Act 1996, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority is pleased to make the following regulations:

PART - I

PRELIMINARY

1. Short title and commencement.--(1) These regulations shall be called as “Subscribers Antecedents Verification Regulations, 2015”.

(2) They shall come into force from the date of gazette notification.

2. Scope and Applicability.--These Regulations shall apply to all mobile communications service licensees for the registration and maintenance of accurate data of their subscribers antecedents through proper documentation and verification through NADRA database in accordance with the procedures specified in these Regulations.

3. Definitions.--(1) In these Regulations unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context:

(a) “Act” means the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organization) Act, 1996 ;

(b) “Alien” means a person registered with the National Alien Registration Authority (NARA);

(d) “Authorized Sellers” means and includes franchisees, retailers, agents having a valid written agreement with an Operator for the sale of SIM(s) in addition to their current employees authorized by the operator.

(e) “CNIC” means Computerized National Identity Card issued by NADRA;

(f) “Change of ownership form” means the document (electronic or otherwise) containing:

(i) Antecedents of the transferor and transferee;

(ii) Date of the request;

(iii) Signature of transferor or the authorized person and the transferee;

(iv) Sales channel information i.e Unique ID, name, address, stamp;

(v) Any other information deemed necessary by the Authority; and

(vi) Unique transaction ID generated by NADRA during biometric verification.

(g) “Customer Service Center (CSC)” means the designated office of the operator, for customer services;

(h) “Corporate Customers” means and includes following:

(1) All armed forces i.e. Army, PAF, Navy and attached departments;

(2) All embassies in Pakistan

(3) All foreign missions in Pakistan

(4) All Pakistani local organizations that have a National Tax Number (NTN)

(5) All Companies/International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOS) that have a registration certificate under the applicable law/NTN

(i) “NADRA” means National Database and Registration Authority;

(j) “NARA” means National Alien Registration Authority;

(k) “Operator” means the holder of a Mobile Cellular License issued by the Authority;

(l) “Person” means a natural person;

(m) “Pre-activated SIM” means a SIM sold without following the procedures prescribed by the Authority in these Regulations and any SIM found pre-active at any of the sales outlet of the Operator;

(n) “Subscriber” means and includes natural or juristic person who subscribes for a telecommunication service;

(o) “SIM” means Subscriber Identity Module to be provided by a cellular mobile Operator as a connection for cellular mobile services;

(p) “Rules” means all Rules issued from time to time by the Federal Government under Section 57 of the Act;

(q) “Regulations” means all Regulations issued by the Authority under the Act, from time to time including these Regulations; and

(r) “Unique ID” means an exclusive sale ID issued by the concerned operator specifically for communicating with database of authorized sales channels.

(s) “Verification” means the authentication of the antecedents/ particulars of each cellular mobile subscriber with the data maintained by NADRA in real time in the manner prescribed by the Authority from time to time.

(2) Words and expression used but not defined herein shall bear the meaning given thereto in the Act or the Rules.

PART-II

Subscriber Documentation and Online Verification through NADRA database by the Operator(s)

4. Sale of SIM(s).--(1) Operators shall be entitled to sell SIM(s) only through their customer service outlets or registered and authorized franchisees/ agents, current employees authorized by the Operator:

Provided that only a holder of a Unique ID shall be authorized to sell SIM(s):

Provided further, that the Unique ID shall be assigned/managed by the concerned Operator in the manner prescribed by the Authority from time to time.

(2) The Operator(s) shall ensure verification of Subscriber antecedents at the time of sale of SIM in the manner prescribed by the Authority from time to time.

(3) The Operator(s) shall submit an up to date list of all franchisees and agents, as and when required by the Authority.

(4) Any SIM(s) sold by any means shall be the sole responsibility of the Operator(s).

5. Minimun Requirements for Sale of New SIM(s).--(1) No SIM(s) shall be sold and activated by any Operator in any manner to any Person(s) unless and until following prerequisites are fulfilled:

(a) Requirements for Pakistani Nationals:

(i) Valid identity card number issued by NADRA shall be provided to the authorized Person of the Operator; and

(ii) Any additional requirement as deemed to be necessary by the Authority from time to time”

(b) Requirements for Foreign Nationals:

(i) Original passport with a valid visa to stay in Pakistan shall be shown and copy of passport attested by customer service center shall be retained by the authorized Person of the Operator;

(ii) In case of aliens, a valid document and identity card issued by National Alien Registration Authority shall be shown at customer service center and a copy shall be retained by the authorized person of the Operator ; and

(iii) For Afghan Nationals, attested (by Gazetted Officer/notary public) copy of valid identity card issued by the Government of Pakistan; and

(iv) Any additional requirement as deemed to be necessary by the Authority from time to time.

(2) All authorized persons nominated by the Operator, shall be responsible for the collection, verification and attestation of all documents, where applicable, as referred above, as a prerequisite for the purchase of a SIM.

(3) All customer agreement forms, where applicable shall be stamped by the authorized representative of the Operator(s) or their authorized agents and franchisees as the case may be as per instructions issued by the Authority from time to time.

(4) Postpaid and data SIM(s) shall be sold at the customer service center, franchise and by authorized Operator representatives only.

6. Requirements of Selling a Service to Corporate Customers.--(1) All Operators shall be entitled to sell SIM(s) in bulk to Corporate Customers, only through their customer service centers.

(2) All Corporate Customers referred to in sub-regulation (1) above shall be required to fulfill the following minimum obligations:

(a) A Board resolution or authorization letter duly issued by the competent authority containing the name of authorizing Person or body on behalf of the organization, the name, designation and CNIC No. of the Person authorized to purchase the Services (s), and the number of connections/subscriptions required;

(b) Copy of CNIC of the authorized representative;

(c) The Corporate Customers shall give an undertaking that the connection allotted shall only be issued to their employees and in case of change of ownership the same shall be communicated to the Operator within seven (7) days of such change. The respective organization(s) shall be responsible for any misuse of the Service by its employees.

(3) All Corporate Customers shall provide a detailed report to the concerned Operator regarding issuance of SIM(s) to the Person on their behalf, within seven (7) days of sale of the SIM(s) in accordance with the format attached as Annexure-A and Annexure-B to these regulations.

(4) All operators shall maintain a complete list of all Corporate Customers in accordance with the format attached as Annexure-A to these Regulations for defense organizations, embassies and foreign missions, which shall be provided to PTA as and when required.

(5) All operators shall maintain a complete list of all Corporate Customers in accordance with the format attached as Annexure-B to these Regulations for Pakistani local organizations, companies/International non-governmental organizations having a registration certificate or national tax number, which shall be provided to PTA as and when required.

PART-III

Verification and Activation of SIM(s) by Cellular Mobile Operators

7. Maximum Number of SIM(s) to be issued to individual CNIC holders.--Not more than five (5) SIM(s) shall be sold and activated collectively by Operators against an individual CNIC holder, whether from one or more Operators.

8. SIM(s) Activation upon Verification.--(1) All Operators shall ensure the activation of any SIM only after complete verification of Subscriber(s) antecedents given under Regulation 9 of these Regulations in accordance with the directions of the Authority from time to time.

(2) In the circumstances where any SIM is found without verification it shall be blocked immediately by the Operator and the status of such blocked SIM(s) shall be reported as and when required by the Authority.

(3) The subscriber of each SIM shall be responsible for its use, and shall ensure that it is not misused for any fraudulent, obnoxious or unsolicited communication etc. In the event of loss or theft of the SIM(s), the Subscriber shall report immediately but not later than 24 hours of such loss or theft to the concerned Operator and get the SIM(s) blocked by submitting a request:

Provided where the above stated procedure has not been followed and where such SIM(s) results in being used for the commission of an offence punishable under any law for the time being in force, the owner of the SIM(s) shall be responsible.

9. Verification and Activation of SIM(s) through NADRA.--(1) For the purposes of subscriber data verification, Operators shall make necessary automated and redundant arrangements with NADRA:

Provided that only the operator concerned shall verify and activate the SIM(s).

(2) All SIM(s) once sold and verified by NADRA shall be activated within a' maximum of 24 (twenty four) hours of the request made by the Subscriber to the operator in addition to the requirements/directions issued by the Authority from time to time.

(3) In the case that the subscriber data does not match with NADRA's record, the subscriber shall be informed about the reason for non-verification by the sales agent based upon error code generated by NADRA and the customer shall be advised to visit the nearest customer service center of the concerned Operator or the nearest NADRA swift center, as the case may be to sort out the discrepancy in data mismatch.

10. Activation of SIM(s) for Foreign Nationals.--(1) All Operators shall sell and activate SIM(s) to foreign nationals through customer service center only.

(2) All sales under sub-regulation (1) shall be verified through a manual process by the concerned Operator in accordance with procedures laid down by the Authority from time to time.

11. Cleaning of Old Data.--(1) All Operators shall ensure verification of antecedents of all SIM(s) whether active or not, within the timelines and in the manner prescribed by the Authority.

(2) All Operators shall furnish a comprehensive report under sub-regulation (1) comprising the status of verified or blocked SIM(s) as soon as possible but not later than thirty (30) days, from the directive of the Authority.

(3) All Operators shall block all the SIM(s) which are unverified within the timelines prescribed by the Authority from time to time.

12. Change of Ownership.--(1) All Operators shall follow the procedures prescribed by the Authority from time to time for processing requests for change of ownership by subscriber(s).

(2) Change of ownership request shall only be received by the Customer Service Centers and franchisees:

Provided that upon receipt of request under sub-regulation (2) above, the CSC and franchisee shall complete the process of such request within three (3) working days.

(3) A request for the change of ownership must include at a minimum the following:

(a) Physical presence of owner or an authority letter authorizing such person to initiate request of change of ownership on behalf of the owner alongwith original CNIC of authorized person, original owner and transferee;

(b) Change of ownership form (electronic or otherwise) duly filled in;

(4) Subject to fulfillment of requirements specified in sub-regulation (3) upon showing the original CNIC of owner or authorized person and transferee the request for change of ownership shall be processed:

Provided that a request of change of ownership shall not be entertained before the completion of the 30th day of last availed mobile number portability or issuance of a duplicate SIM.

(5) Upon completion of the process of each request for the change of ownership the existing SIM shall be deactivated and a new inactive SIM(s) shall be issued and activated in accordance with the procedure prescribed in Regulations 8 and 9 of these regulations.

(6) All documentation with regard to each Change of Ownership request, specified in sub-regulation (3), shall be maintained by Operator and shall be provided to the Authority as and when required.

Part-IV

Miscellaneous Provisions

13. Breach of Agreements by Authorized Sellers.--(1) In case of non-compliance of any procedure specified in these Regulations and as directed by the Authority from time to time, or upon receipt of information from any source of non-compliance of these Regulations and directions of the Authority, the Authority or an authorized officer of the Authority not below the rank of Director, may direct an Operator to take action against the Authorized Seller.

14. Directions of the Authority.--(1) All directives, notifications, standard operating procedures and orders issued by the Authority from time to time on or before notification of these Regulations shall be binding and applicable on the Operators.

(2) The Operators shall ensure the revision and updating of the verification procedure as and when required by the Authority.

15. Public Education & Awareness.--All Operators shall launch a special campaign through print and electronic media for the education of consumers (in both English and Urdu languages) of all the requirements and processes to be followed to purchase SIM(s) and verification of antecedents as and when required by the Authority.

16. Inspection.--(1) In order to ensure compliance of these Regulations, the Authority through its authorized officer(s) may inspect the premises and records maintained by the Operator(s) at any time at their customer services outlets or the premises of the registered and authorized agents or franchisees.

(2) The concerned Operator(s) and their registered and authorized agents or franchisees shall provide all the information and shall extend all possible assistance to the authorized officer(s) or representative of the Authority to inspect the records.

17. Reporting Requirements.--All Operators shall submit reports about SIM(s), record of Subscribers, documentation, detail of Operator's franchisees and authorized agents or any information for the purpose of these Regulations as and when required by the Authority.

18. Maintenance of Record.--All Operators shall ensure the maintenance of updated record of all SIM(s) sold to Subscribers and shared with the Authority/concerned quarters from time to time.

19. Confidentiality of Information.--Without prejudice to the provisions of any law for the time being in force, every Operator shall ensure the confidentiality of all information disclosed by the Subscribers under the provisions of these Regulations.

20. Repeal and Savings.--(1) The Subscriber Antecedents Verification Regulations, 2010, Subscriber Antecedents Verification (Amendment) Regulations, 2012 and Subscriber Antecedents Verification (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2012 are hereby repealed.

(2) Notwithstanding the above, all orders, directives, notifications and actions taken under the Subscriber Antecedents Verification Regulations, 2010, Subscriber Antecedents Verification (Amendment) Regulations, 2012 and Subscriber Antecedents Verification (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2012 shall be deemed to have been made, taken, issued lawfully and validly unless amended, withdrawn, rescinded or annulled by the Authority under these Regulations.

---------------------------

Annexure-A

(See Regulation (5) of Regulation 6)

List of Corporate Customers M/S

As on _____________________

S. No.	Name of Organization	Date & Total Required SIMs/Connections	Details of Authorized Person Mentioned on Authority Letter			Number of SIMs/ Connections Issued
			Name	Designation	CNIC/ Passport Number

Annexure-B

(See Regulation (6) of Regulation 6)

List of Corporate Customers M/S

As on ________________________

S. No.	Name of Organization	Date of Total Required SIMs/ Connections	Details of Authorized Person Mentioned on Authority Letter			Number of SIMs/ Connections Issued	Details of User to Whom SIMs have been issued
S. No.	Name of Organization	Date of Total Required SIMs/ Connections	Name	Designation	CNIC/ Passport #	Number of SIMs/ Connections Issued	SIM No.	Name	CNIC/ Passport #	Present Address	Permanent Address

-----------------------------

RULES, 2014

PUBLICATION OF LAWS OF PAKISTAN
RULES, 2015

[Gazette of Pakistan, Extraordinary, Part-II, 7^th April, 2015]

S. R. O. 277 (I)/2015.--In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 25 of the Publication of Laws of Pakistan (Regulation) Ordinance, 2015, the Federal Government is pleased to make the following rules, namely:--

1. Short title and commencement.--(1) These rules may be called the Publication of Laws of Pakistan Rules, 2015.

(2) They shall come into force at once.

2. Definitions.--(1) In these rules, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,--

(a) “Cell” means the laws of Pakistan Cell established under Section 6 of the Ordinance;

(b) “Director” means the Director of the Cell;

(d) “publisher” means a person who is publishing or who intends to publish any law of Pakistan in the form of a book, booklet, pamphlet, journal, or in any electronic form, and also includes a person who is involved in the publication of laws of Pakistan along with any other business; and

(e) “reviewer” means a person who reviews a law of Pakistan under the Ordinance and these rules.

(2) All other words used but not defined herein shall have the same meanings as are assigned to them under the Ordinance.

3. Registration of publishers.--(1) All the publishers who are involved in the publication of laws of Pakistan shall, within ninety days of the commencement of the Ordinance and in accordance with the procedure laid down in these rules, get themselves registered with the Cell.

(2) Subject to sub-rule (1), an application containing all the particulars as specified in Form 'B' shall be submitted to the Cell.

4. Registration fee.--(1) Any publisher seeking registration with the Cell shall pay one time registration fee of one hundred thousand rupees to the Cell and thereafter an annual fee of twenty thousand rupees within thirty days of the expiry of first year of his registration.

Explanation.--The one time registration fee of one hundred thousand rupees shall include the annual fee for the first year.

(2) The registration fee, annual fee, review fee and the amount received by way of fine imposed by the Cell or any other amount received by the Cell under the Ordinance and these rules, shall be deposited in a separate account maintained for this purpose in the accounts office of the Cell thus forming part of Federal treasury.

5. Undertaking for registration.--Any publisher who applies for registration shall submit an undertaking to the Cell to the effect that the publisher shall,--

(a) publish the laws of Pakistan on a paper the impression on one side of which is not visible from the other side and if newsprint is used, it should not be of less than 52 grammage;

(b) before submission to the Cell, get his specimen copy of the proposed publication of a law of Pakistan compared with the text of the official publication of laws of Pakistan as published in the official Gazette, by a person holding a law degree from a recognized university or a person trained in the job of proof reading of legal publications, and have a statement recorded in writing by such a person that the contents of the laws of Pakistan reproduced in the publication are accurate;

(c) ensure that the cover page of every edition or publication of a law of Pakistan clearly bears the name and registration number of the publisher, the batch number of the publication, the name of the printer or database operator, and the day, month and year till which it has been updated;

(d) write his name and registration number along with the date of publication, on each page of his publication;

(e) publish the laws of Pakistan after obtaining the certificate of accuracy from the Cell;

(f) print the certificate of accuracy at a conspicuous place in the publication to which it relates;

(g) evolve a mechanism to ascertain the identity and address of his customers, subscribers and book-sellers, who purchase the publications from him, in order to ensure recalling of any published material which is published in contravention of the Ordinance and these rules; and

(h) in case the publisher is a corporation, provide a copy of the Articles and Memorandum of Association to the Cell along with the names of Directors, Managers and other office bearers of that corporation.

6. Registration number.--On fulfilling the requirements under Rules 4 and 5, a publisher shall stand registered and upon registration, the Cell shall allot a distinct registration number to that publisher.

7. Grounds for de-registration.--(1) A publisher may be de-registered by the Cell on violation of any of the provisions of undertaking enumerated under Rule 5, or in default of any amount of fee or fine under Rule 4, or not fulfilling the requirements under sub-rule (7) of Rule 9 or Rule 10.

(2) The Cell shall not pass an order of de-registration of a publisher unless the publisher has been served a notice and afforded an opportunity of hearing.

8. Terms and conditions of Director and other employees of Cell.--(1) The Cell shall be headed by a Director who shall be appointed by the Federal Government on Management Position Scale-III (MP-III), and shall be a law graduate with sufficient experience of proof reading of laws, translation of laws, maintaining and updating of law books, journals, etc., administration and management.

(2) The Federal Government may also appoint as many Deputy Directors, Assistant Directors, and other staff members on market based salary as may be required for the efficient working of the Cell including the maintenance of accounts of the Cell, the internal auditing of the Cell and the enforcement of the functions of the Cell under the Ordinance and these rules.

(3) The minimum qualifications for the employees of the Cell appointed under sub-rule (2) shall be specified in the advertisement in the newspapers by the Federal Government.

(4) At least one office of the Cell shall be established in the Law Department of each Province, headed by a Deputy Director who shall be appointed by the respective Provincial Government on market based salary and shall be a law graduate with sufficient experience of proof reading of laws, translation of laws, maintaining and updating of law books, journals, etc., administration and management.

(5) A Provincial Government may appoint as many Assistant Directors and other staff, on market based salary, as may be required for the efficient working of the office of the Cell established in the Law Department of that Province.

(6) The minimum qualifications for the employees of the office of the Cell appointed under sub-rule (5) shall be specified in the advertisement in the newspapers by the respective Provincial Government.

9. Certificate of accuracy.--(1) Any registered publisher, seeking review from the Cell, of the laws of Pakistan to be published by him shall, after payment of review fee, send ten copies of the material to be reviewed in double space and 'font 14', along with ten Gazette copies of the official publication relating to the material to be reviewed.

(2) The review fee shall be one rupee per word and the number of words shall always be counted through the facility of 'word counter' in the computer.

(3) The review fee received from the review of a Provincial law shall be deposited in the treasury of the respective Province and the fee received from the review of a Federal law shall be deposited in the accounts office of the Cell.

(4) The Cell shall, within a maximum period of sixty working days from the date of submission of publication material to be reviewed, complete the review, correct errors and issue certificate of accuracy thereon in the manner specified in Form `A' to these rules.

(5) The certificate of accuracy obtained by the publisher shall be conclusive proof for the publisher for having fulfilled all the requirements under the Ordinance and these rules.

(6) After the issuance of certificate of accuracy, if the Cell finds, on its own or through any person, that an error exists in the publication in respect of which the certificate of accuracy was issued, the Cell shall recall all the publications published by the publisher containing such error and return the same to the publisher after rectifying the error at the expense of the Cell.

(7) Any publication referred to in sub-rule (6), if has been sold by the publisher, shall be recalled by the publisher for onward transmission to the Cell for rectification of error under sub-rule (6).

10. Supply of copies by the publisher.--A publisher who, after obtaining the certificate of accuracy, publishes laws of Pakistan shall send twenty copies thereof, free of cost, to the Cell.

11. Responsibility of book-sellers.--(1) On the commencement of these rules, all the book-sellers shall purchase the publications containing the laws of Pakistan only from a publisher registered under these rules.

(2) In order to safeguard the interest of end consumers, the book-sellers shall also ensure that all the publications purchased under sub-rule (1), contain a certificate of accuracy issued by the Cell.

12. Filing of complaint by Cell.--The Director of the Cell in case of Federal Government and the Deputy Director of the office of the Cell in case of Provincial Government may authorize any Assistant Director to file a complaint with the Session Judge under the Ordinance.

FORM 'A'

[See Rule 9(4)]

CERTIFICATE OF ACCURACY BY THE CELL

I NAME _____________ S/o NAME ______________ working as DESIGNATION ___________, in the Laws of Pakistan Cell, established in the Ministry of Law, Justice and Human Rights, Islamabad, hereby certify on THIS _________ day of MONTH __________ 20 YEAR ___________ that the material containing the laws of Pakistan, comprising ____________ number of pages and ___________ number of words, received through application number ____________, from the Publisher NAME _________ duly registered with the Cell vide Registration number _________, intended to be published by the publisher for batch number __________ of his publication, has been reviewed and made absolutely free from errors, hence is fit for publication.

FORM 'B'

[See Rule 3(2)]

APPLICATION

An application made under sub-rule (2) of Rule 3 of the Publication of Laws of Pakistan Rules, 2015 shall be accompanied by the following documents:--

(i) Name and legal personality of the publisher

(ii) Registration number of legal personality of publisher

(iii) Address of the publisher

(iv) National Taxation Number of the publisher

(v) General Sales Tax Number of the publisher

------------------------

RULES, 2015

SMALL DISPUTE RESOLUTION COMMITTEES (CONSTITUTION AND PROCEDURE) RULES, 2015

[Gazette of Pakistan, Extraordinary, Part-II, 5^th June, 2015]

S.R.O. 545(I)/2015, dated 3.6.2015.--In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 117 and sub-section (2) of Section 167 of the Insurance Ordinance (XXXIX of 2000), read with S.R.O. 708(I)/2009 dated 27th July 2009, and in supersession of S.R.O. 417(I)/2005 dated 11th May 2005 and Notification No. 2(19)/97-Ins.II dated 16th December 2006, the following draft rules are hereby published by the Commission for information of all persons likely to be effected thereby and notice is hereby given that objections and suggestions, if any, received by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan within the thirty days of the publication of this notification, will be taken into consideration.

CHAPTER I

SHORT TITLE, COMMENCEMENT AND DEFINITIONS

1. Short Title and Commencement.--(1) These Rules shall be called the “Small Dispute Resolution Committees (Constitution and Procedure) Rules, 2015.

(2) These Rules shall come into force at once.

2. Definitions.--(1) In these Rules, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,--

(a) “Act” means the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan Act, 1997;

(b) “Commission” means the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan constituted under Section 3 of the SECP Act, 1997;

(d) “Member” means a natural person appointed as member of the Small Dispute Resolution Committee to take part in the dispute resolution process for a particular dispute;

(e) “Ordinance” means the Insurance Ordinance, 2000 (Ordinance No. XXXIX of 2000);

(2) The words and expressions used but not defined shall have the same meaning as assigned to them in the Ordinance.

CHAPTER 2

CONSTITUTION AND COMPOSITION OF SMALL DISPUTE RESOLUTION COMMITTEES

3. Constitution of the Committees.--(1) The Committees shall be constituted at the following places:

(a) Islamabad;

(b) Lahore;

(d) Such other places as may be specified by the Commission through notification in the official gazette.

(2) Each Committee shall establish its own secretariat to be situated in the city or place at which it is constituted in pursuance of sub-rule (1), and the amount prescribed by the Commission shall be paid to the Committee to meet its expenses.

4. Composition of the Committee.--(1) Each Committee shall comprise of the following individuals to act as members of the Committees:--

(a) an Advocate as defined under clause (a) of Section 2 of the Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils Act, 1973 (Act No. XXXV of 1973);

(b) a chartered accountant as defined under clause (b) of Section 2 of the Chartered Accountants Ordinance, 1961 (Ordinance No. X of 1961) or a cost and management accountant as defined under clause (a) of sub-section (1) of Section 2 of the Cost and Management Accountants Act, 1966 (XIV of 1966);

(d) any other person deemed appropriate by the Commission:

Provided that on the basis of any special reason, the Commission may reduce or increase the number of members for a Committee as may be specified through a notification in the official gazette.

CHAPTER 3

JURISDICTION OF THE COMMITTEE AND ADMISSION OF DISPUTES

5. Committee to arbitrate certain disputes.--The Committee shall have the authority to arbitrate disputes having pecuniary limits given in the following table:

Nature of the Underlying Insurance Policy	Maximum Sum Insured
Individual life contract	Rupees One Million Only.
Domestic insurance policy	Rupees Two Million Only.
Private motor insurance policy	Rupees One Million Only.

6. Reporting of the disputes to the Committee.--A policyholder having a dispute with an insurer shall make an application to the Committee, at the respective secretariat, in the Form annexed with these rules, for registration of the dispute and the Committee shall register the same subject to the compliance of requirement of Rule 5.

CHAPTER 4

DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROCESS

7. Power of the Committee to call for written submissions from the parties.--(1) The Committee shall have the power to call for written submissions from the parties to the dispute.

(2) Any request for calling the written submissions from the parties shall be made through a notice, in writing:

Provided that any notice issued to call for written submissions from the parties to the dispute shall allow a timeframe of not less than fourteen days from the date of its dispatch to the parties for submission of their written statements.

(3) The parties shall be bound to provide their written submissions, if any, to the Committee within the allowed timeframe, unless there is any reasonable ground hampering the compliance of the notice.

8. Power of the Committee to obtain opinion from the experts and professionals.--(1) The Committee may, if deemed appropriate, may call for opinion from the experts and professionals in order to resolve any dispute.

(2) Any request for calling the opinion from the experts and professionals shall be made in writing.

9. Power of the Committee to call the parties for hearing.--(1) The Committee shall have the power to call the parties to the dispute for hearing, who shall be bound to appear in person before the Committee.

(2) The Committee shall cause a hearing notice in the name of any or both the parties to the dispute, as the case may be.

10. Committee to prefer amicable resolution of the disputes through negotiation, mediation, conciliation and arbitration.--The Committee shall, at all times, prefer amicable resolution of the disputes through negotiation, mediation, conciliation and arbitration.

11. Committee to resolve dispute within certain timeframe.--(1) The Committee shall resolve a particular dispute within a period of thirty days.

(2) If in a particular dispute, opinions from experts and professionals is obtained or intended to be obtained, in exercise of the powers given under these rules to the Committee, the timeframe given under sub-rule (1) of this rule shall be extended for such additional period as may be required by the Committee to obtain such opinions.

12. Decision of the Committee.--(1) Subject to Rule 10 and Rule 11, the Committee shall communicate its decision, in writing, to each party to the dispute, resolved or arbitrated by the Committee.

(2) The Committee shall also file a copy of its decision to the Commission, on the same day on which such decision is taken by the Committee.

(3) Each decision of the Committee should be speaking and complete, that is to say that the decision should contain all relevant grounds, arguments and facts and findings of a particular case along with the rationale for the decision so taken.

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S.No.	Sector	Maximum Rate of Cess (Rs./MMBTU)
(1)	(2)	(3)
1.	Fertilizer-Feed (Old)	300.00
2.	Fertilizer-Feed (New)	300.00
3.	Fertilizer-Fuel	150.00
4.	Captive Power	200.00
5.	Industry	100.00
6.	KESC/GENCO	100.00
7.	IPPs	100.00

8.	CNG Region-1	263.56
9.	CNG Region-2	200.00