July 16, 2003	Wednesday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 15, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, July 14: The Employees Old-age Benefit Institution (EOBI) has disbursed Rs1190.80 million among 12,752 pensioners in the fiscal year 2002-03.

The 1.8 million insured employees and 225,000 pensioners registered with the institution are being paid Rs700 to Rs1,650 per month. During the last fiscal year the EOBI registered 2,200 employers and collected contributions of Rs1571.53 million from them.

Sources in the labour and manpower ministry told this reporter that to facilitate the employers who pay their employees contributions under self-assessment scheme, the government had decided not to check their records for two years. But the reforms made so far need to be consolidated, constantly reviewed and fine-tuned in the light of the feedback from the stakeholders, they added.

During the previous fiscal, the EOBI derived an income of Rs730.185 million from dividends and on equity. The institution has invested a sum of Rs2 billion in the stock exchange alone.

The sources said on the basis of the data collected from the labour department, factories and other sources, the EOBI traced 4,000 new employers out of which 80 to 90 per cent had been registered with the institution.

The EOBI is planning to introduce a self-assessment scheme with simplified procedures. In future, assessment might be carried out on the basis of evidence and the law of natural justice.