All commercial banks will open on Saturday under the extended banking hours directive, with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) instructing branches nationwide to operate from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm for taxpayer convenience.
The State Bank issued this directive to facilitate over-the-counter payments of government duties and taxes, ensuring that taxpayers can complete their transactions within the required timelines without facing delays.
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According to the announcement, all commercial bank branches, including National Bank of Pakistan locations handling customs duties, must provide full operational services throughout the extended Saturday schedule.
The central bank said the arrangement aims to improve public access to banking services, especially for those needing to deposit government receipts or make duty payments before month-end deadlines.
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NBP-designated branches manually handling government receipts and payments must settle their transactions with the respective SBP-BSC field offices or head office immediately after the same-day clearing cycle concludes.
To support same-day settlement, the directive requires that all instruments related to government receipts presented at bank counters on November 29 be collected through a Special Clearing process conducted by NIFT at 5:30 pm.
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The National Institutional Facilitation Technologies system will then provide final clearing results for these instruments by 11:30 pm the same day, allowing banks to complete reconciliation without delays.
