SBP abolishes Form ‘R’ for freelancers, mandates 24-hour payments

ISLAMABAD: The State Bank of Pakistan has abolished the requirement of Form ‘R’ for freelancers and ordered payment within 24 hours.

According to details, the State Bank of Pakistan has announced a major relaxation in the regulatory procedures for IT companies and freelancers to promote exports of digital services in the country.

These reforms aim to accelerate the pace of development of the IT sector by removing bureaucratic hurdles.

Now, IT exporters will not be required to submit Form ‘R’ for every transaction, and it will be enough to give a declaration only once while opening an account, after which the banks will automatically process the transaction.

The State Bank has made it mandatory for banks to process requests for collection or remittance of money from foreign currency accounts within a maximum of one working day (24 hours).

The limit for submitting Form ‘R’ has been increased to USD 25,000, which will reduce the administrative burden on small and medium freelancers.

All banks have been directed to set up a special internal system for the timely redressal of complaints of IT exporters.

The State Bank has encouraged the digitization of Form ‘R’, Inward Remittance Voucher (IRV), and Form ‘M’, and provided the facility of automatic data entry in them.

The central bank expects that these measures will improve the flow of remittances and make it extremely easy for the youth working in the IT export sector to do business.

Minister for Information Technology Shaza Fatima Khawaja, while welcoming the reforms of the State Bank, said that an effective complaints system has been created for IT exporters and freelancers, and the measures will contribute to the promotion of the IT exports and freelancing sector.