Live Issues Being Worked

A member company operating as an authorized distributor of international software licenses, previously remitting under an SBP approval, is now subject to per-transaction requirements for future remittances. P@SHA has requested one-time vendor-wise approval for recurring international software vendors and a periodic QCR auditor certificate in place of a separate certificate per remittance, to avoid disruption to license renewals.

Where a reseller must submit the end-client invoice for the distributor's remittance verification, the reseller's markup is exposed to the upstream party, creating a channel-conflict risk. P@SHA has asked SBP to allow alternative documentation that verifies the transaction without disclosing client-facing pricing.

SBP's 2026 instructions simplified Form R, raising the threshold above USD 25,000 and removing the per-transaction requirement. Some banks have not operationalized the change consistently. The issue is implementation and communication at the bank level, not the SBP policy itself.

IT-related purpose codes remain limited relative to the range of transactions the sector processes. P@SHA is preparing proposed additions and expansions to the purpose code list.

Inconsistent application of purpose codes at the bank level contributes to downstream issues, including tax treatment of export proceeds. P@SHA has proposed nationwide awareness sessions for banks and IT companies.

When foreign inflows are routed through international payment platforms and local banks, PRCs are not consistently issued for each transaction. In their absence, tax authorities tend to treat inflows as local income, preventing companies from claiming export tax benefits. P@SHA facilitated an initial engagement between SBP and a major platform and has proposed that SBP or SIFC formally take the engagement forward.

Ensuring banks demand only the approved, minimum documentation for Exporters' Special Foreign Currency Account transactions.

An IT exporter maintaining a USD account since 2020 has faced persistent disruption of debit card services essential for international business payments, and the bank subsequently discontinued debit cards on FCY accounts altogether, leaving export proceeds effectively unusable for payments. A replacement solution promised by the bank has not materialized. P@SHA is pursuing the case with the bank and SBP.

Regular awareness and capacity-building sessions for bank branches and focal persons on IT-sector transactions, so facilitation policies issued by SBP reach the counter where members actually bank.

Industry-proposed additions to the approved list of overseas and digital vendors were taken up and concluded.

A prioritized industry list of required digital and online banking facilities was compiled and delivered to SBP.