i) Definitions:
a) IT companies mean all such entities (sole proprietorships, partnerships, companies etc.) registered with Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) or Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) engaged in export of software, IT & IT enabled services (ITeS).
b) Freelancers mean all individuals, resident in Pakistan, engaged in provision of any digital/online services, including IT and IT related services, against which payments are received from outside
Pakistan.
ii) Procedure for Exports:
For IT companies, Authorized Dealers may obtain a copy of export agreement(s) or invoice(s) or any other supporting document, evidencing the export of services, preferably in an electronic form.
For Freelancers, the export proceeds could also be processed on self-declaration basis, where underlying
export agreements/contracts are not available. Such declaration would be obtained once at the time of opening of account.
iii) Retention & Utilization of Retained Proceeds:
Authorized Dealers shall adopt the following procedure for retention of export proceeds and its subsequent
utilization:
a) Authorized Dealers shall open Exporters’ Special Foreign Currency Accounts (ESFCAs) of all such exporters (IT companies & freelancers) concurrently while opening the primary PKR account.
b) IT Companies and Freelancers shall be allowed to retain USD 5,000/- per month or 50% of the export proceeds, whichever is higher, in their ESFCAs. In this regard, Authorized Dealers shall mandatorily credit permissible retained amounts in these ESFCAs, unless an exporter specifically requests in writing to the authorized dealer for less/ not crediting the export proceeds in the ESFCA.
c) The funds available in the ESFCAs can be converted into PKR at any time upon the request of the customer.
d) For IT companies, the balances held in the ESFCAs may be utilized for making all types of payments of current account nature (for example, imports, acquisition of services from abroad, profit/dividend repatriation against registered shares, etc.), for their own business purposes, without SBP’s prior approval.
e) For freelancers, the balances held in ESFCAs may be utilized for making all personal and own work related payments of current account nature (for example, digital services, digital marketing, membership/ subscription fees, acquiring certification, study etc.) without any approval from SBP.
f) The funds in ESFCAs can also be used for making payments with regard to capital and financial account transactions, such as equity investment abroad and foreign currency loan repayments. However, in case of remittance of such transactions, proper procedure as described in the relevant regulations shall be followed. For example, for equity investment abroad, instructions stipulated in Para 13, Chapter 20 of the FE Manual shall be adhered to. Similarly, regarding loan repayments, the procedure defined in chapter 19 would be
followed.
g) ADs are required to facilitate the exporters (on specific request) by issuing debit cards against ESFCAs, to make payments against balances held in such accounts. However, no cash withdrawal from these foreign currency retention accounts shall be allowed within Pakistan.
h) The funds of such exporters available in the ESFCA with an Authorized Dealer may be transferred to the same exporter’s ESFCA maintained with another Authorized Dealer, upon specific request of the exporter. The ADs shall ensure that the proceeds being credited are from ESFCA of the same exporter.
i) The funds available in these accounts cannot be credited/transferred to any other FCY/FE-25 account(s).