Nisab set at Rs46,329 for zakat deduction

Banks will deduct zakat from accounts on first Ramazan

KARACHI: The Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division of the federal Cabinet Secretariat on Monday notified Nisab - the minimum amount in bank accounts for zakat deduction - at Rs46,329.

Banks would deduct 2.5% zakat on the total amount in savings, profit and loss sharing or similar bank accounts having minimum balance equivalent to the Nisab on the first day of the fasting month of Ramazan 2020.

The first day of Ramazan is likely to fall on April 24 or 25, subject to the sighting of the moon, according to the cabinet notification available on State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)’s website. People, who have balance lower than the minimum one (Nisab) or those who have submitted the Zakat exemption affidavit or those people and corporations who are maintaining current accounts, are not liable to pay Zakat on their bank accounts.

This year, the Nisab is higher by Rs1,914 from Rs44,415 announced for last Ramazan, which fell in May 2019. Nisab is calculated in accordance with prices of gold and silver. The amount collected on account of zakat is distributed among the needy and poor patients in hospitals in Pakistan.

According to sources, the government collected close to Rs17.7 billion through zakat deduction from bank accounts in three fiscal years 2015-2017.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 21^st, 2020.

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