To make it easier for people to pay their taxes, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has decided that banks open on Saturdays will have longer banking hours this weekend.
The SBP announced that these banks will stay open until 4:00 pm on both Saturday (March 30) and Sunday (March 31). This extension is specifically for collecting taxes through Alternate Delivery Channels (ADCs) and Over-the-Counter facilities.
Additionally, the National Institutional Facilitation Technologies (NIFT) has been instructed to organize special clearings at 4:00 pm on March 30 and 31. This step aims to ensure that payment instruments are processed on the same day.
To prevent any delay in processing tax receipts, banks are required to handle all government-related transactions during these extended hours. Any receipts received during this time must be processed promptly and included in the special clearing scheduled for March 31.
Furthermore, banks have been directed to keep their branches open for as long as necessary on March 30 and 31 to facilitate these special clearings for government transactions by NIFT.
