Mari Energies Completes Tax Compliance for Bonus Share Issuance

Mari Energies Limited, a prominent Exploration and Production (E&P) company in Pakistan, has finalized the tax compliance process pertaining to its 800% bonus share distribution, adhering to the directives issued by the Islamabad High Court.

The publicly listed entity communicated this development to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday.

The company stated, “In accordance with the Islamabad High Court’s order, Mari Energies Limited has successfully executed the required actions for recovering and depositing the tax associated with the 800% bonus share issuance, as mandated by the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001.”

To meet its tax obligations, the business established a system for collecting and transferring the appropriate tax to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). This was achieved by withholding and liquidating a portion of bonus shares from both tax-filer and non-filer shareholders.

Initially, Mari Energies held back 10% of bonus shares for shareholders classified as filers and 20% for those classified as non-filers, as part of the tax recovery process.

The notice clarified, “The retained shares were then sold off, and the earnings were remitted to the FBR, serving as an offset against the respective shareholders’ tax responsibilities.”

Furthermore, the Court permitted the company to keep additional shares under lien (10% for filers and 20% for non-filers) in situations where the initial retained shares did not fully cover the relevant tax liabilities. The company was subsequently given the go-ahead to liquidate the shares under lien to the extent of the outstanding tax amount.

MARI stated, “Consequently, lien-marked bonus shares belonging to shareholders who did not meet their tax payment obligations have been proportionally disposed of to settle their individual tax debts.”

The company further clarified that a consistent weighted average sale price was used for all such transactions.

According to the company, these additional disposals made up approximately 0.38% of the total bonus issue for filers and roughly 0.76% for non-filers. “The proceeds generated from these transactions, representing the recovered tax, are currently being deposited with the FBR.”

The remaining bonus shares, meanwhile, have been deposited into the respective shareholders’ accounts with the Central Depository Company (CDC).

Mari Energies holds the position of the nation’s second-largest natural gas producer. It functions as an integrated oil and gas E&P enterprise, boasting an exploration success rate of about 70%, significantly outperforming the industry averages of about 30% nationally and 14% internationally.

The business manages Pakistan’s largest gas reservoir, situated at the Mari Gas Field in Daharki, Sindh.