March 16, 2003	Sunday	Muharram 12, 1424

ISLAMABAD, March 15: A meeting on Saturday reviewed foreign exchange remittance card scheme being run by Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF) aimed at encouraging Pakistanis living abroad to remit their savings to Pakistan through normal banking channels.

The meeting, presided over by the adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance, Shaukat Aziz, was attended by senior officials of Ministry of Labour and Manpower, OPF, State Bank of Pakistan, CBR, and Ministries of Interior, Finance, Information and Foreign Affairs.

The Government had announced a package of incentives in September 2001 for overseas Pakistanis to encourage them to remit their savings to Pakistan through banking channels to augment foreign exchange reserves.

The scheme has two different categories of cards, gold and silver entitling overseas Pakistanis to various concessions. As part of the package following incentives had been offered:

A separate OPF facilitation counters for special handling at arrival and departures lounges at all international airports of the country, free issuance/renewal of passport on an urgent basis and duty-free allowance of items for personal baggage of the value of $800 and $1500 for silver and gold card holders respectively.

Overseas Pakistanis holding silver and gold cards can import any goods under their duty-free allowance entitlement except 11 household/electrical appliances, which are being manufactured in Pakistan: air conditioner, cooking range, deep freezer, gas appliances, microwave oven, refrigerator, sewing machine, television sets, VCR, VCP and washing machine.

The restriction is aimed at protecting the local industry manufacturing these items.

It may be mentioned that these items are available at all duty free shops in the country in adequate quantity and can be purchased without payment of sales tax against duty-free allowance of overseas Pakistanis holding silver and gold cards.—APP