KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has asked commercial banks to keep their branches open on Saturday with extended time for the collection of taxes and duties.

“To facilitate taxpayers in making payments of government duties and taxes through Over-the-Counter (OTC) channels and Alternate Delivery Channels (ADCs), it has been decided, on the request of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), that all Saturday-opening branches of commercial banks and NBP’s branches handling custom collections shall remain open from 09:00 am. to 05:00 pm on June 27,” said the SBP circular on Wednesday.

Furthermore, all commercial banks and branches of the National Bank of Pakistan handling customs collections will observe extended working hours. On Monday, they will remain open until 8:00pm. On Tuesday, working hours will be extended until 10:00pm, while NBP branches that handle customs payments will remain open until 11:59pm.

Banks have been advised to ensure that their branches concerned remain open, in accordance with the aforementioned schedule, for as long as required to facilitate the special clearing of government transactions conducted by NIFT.

“The banks will also ensure uninterrupted availability of their digital payment channels i.e. internet banking, mobile banking applications, ATMs, and other digital platforms to facilitate the online payment of government duties and taxes,” said the SBP.

Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2026