The Central Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on June 15 said that banks operating in Pakistan can open and operate Internet Merchant Accounts. The decision, it said, has been taken to promote business-to-commerce (B2C) e-commerce in the country. The SBP has issued a circular and fixed the following parameters for opening of accounts:
Merchants desirous of opening an Internet Merchant Account with a bank in Pakistan can open the same either in local currency or in US dollars, for the purpose and, in addition to observance of normal procedure for opening an account, will be required to submit a copy of their National Tax Number certificate to the bank.
The merchant must be engaged in a business permissible under the laws of Pakistan.
The merchants must have a registered place of business in the country.
Merchants intending to export goods/services must provide a copy of export registration certificate from the Export Promotion Bureau. For the present, merchants desirous to undertake transactions of value less that 500 US dollars each to their bank which will submit the same in consolidated form on monthly basis to the SBP.
The banks will recover charges for Internet Merchant Accounts strictly in accordance with the Prudential Regulation and they would also be responsible for reporting business through the Internet Merchant Accounts to the Foreign Exchange Department of the SBP on monthly basis.
The content of this article is intended to provide general information on the subject matter. It is therefore not a substitute for specialist advice.