In an interesting development, the draw for the Rs 750 prize bonds will be held in Peshawar on April 15.
Lucky winners of the draw will be awarded prizes worth lakhs of rupees. The first prize for the Rs 750 bonds will be a prize of Rs 1.5 million.
The second prize for Rs750 prize bonds will be constituted of three prizes worth Rs 5 million, while the third prize for Rs750 prize bonds will be made of 1,696 prizes worth Rs 9,300.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Finance has issued a notification of the new Registered Draft Rules for Digital Prize Bonds.
According to the notification of the Ministry of Finance, the purchase and sale of digital prize bonds will be done through a mobile app.
Tax will be levied on the prize money on these bonds, however, Zakat will not be applicable on the prize bonds. There is no maximum investment limit set for digital bonds and every adult Pakistani citizen will be eligible to invest in these bonds.
According to the Ministry of Finance, the ownership of digital prize bonds will not be allowed to be transferred or mortgaged.
In case of death of an investor, the bond amount will be paid to the legal heirs as per the succession certificate.
Issuance of digital prize bonds will be more secure and less costly than paper bonds as they will be completely digital. This will eliminate printing and logistics costs.
The bonds will be registered in the name of the buyer, which will reduce the risk of theft, loss or damage. Digital prize bonds of Rs 500, Rs 1000, Rs 5000 and Rs 10000 will be issued initially. The Ministry of Finance will soon release more details of these bonds.
It is worth mentioning here that in case of winning a prize on manual prize bonds, tax is deducted on the prize money under Section 156 of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001. Currently, the tax rate is 15 percent for filers and 30 percent for non-filers.
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