The Federal Government has introduced the Digital Prize Bonds (Registered) Rules, 2024, which will come into immediate effect, as announced in a notice by the Finance Division.
Under these new regulations, the Central Directorate of National Savings (CDNS) and any other authorized office will serve as the issuing authority.
The bonds will be issued in denominations specified by the Finance Division through the official gazette. They will be available in multiples of their face value and issued in series of numbers less than a million or as determined by the Finance Division. Importantly, there is no maximum investment limit for these bonds.
A key feature of these digital prize bonds is that they will be issued in scrip-less form, meaning investors will not receive physical certificates. Instead, they will be provided with a system-generated number.
To purchase the bonds, Pakistani citizens aged 18 and above must create a profile on the Digital Prize Bond (DPB) Gateway through the CDNS Mobile Application or other approved channels. The profile must be linked to either a CDNS Savings Account or a Bank Account (in IBAN format). Payments can be made through the linked bank account or CDNS Savings Account, and the purchase date will be considered the date of successful payment.
Investors are responsible for updating their personal information via the designated gateway.
For redemption, customers must use the DPB Gateway, and the funds will be credited back to the same bank or CDNS account used for the purchase. In exceptional cases, the CDNS may process payments through a government cheque.
The Finance Division has the authority to withdraw any bond from circulation through an official notification, and once withdrawn, no prize claims will be accepted. These bonds will remain valid until redeemed by the holder or withdrawn by the government.
Prize money will be distributed through quarterly draws, or as determined by the Finance Division. The annual draw schedule will be published in the official gazette. The results will be officially announced, and prize money will be credited directly to the registered bondholder’s linked account. If prize money is returned by a financial institution, bondholders can claim it within six years; after this period, the government will no longer be liable for the amount, and no profit will be accrued on unclaimed prize money.
The Finance Division will determine the number of prizes and the prize amounts, and transfer of ownership or pledging of bonds is not allowed. Any erroneous payments made contrary to these rules will be recoverable, potentially deducted from government dues or collected as arrears of land revenue.
Investors can nominate someone at the time of purchase or later via the DPB Gateway, with the option to modify or cancel the nomination at any time.
In the event of the bondholder’s death, the principal and prize money will be paid to the legal heirs upon submission of a succession certificate, unless the total net payable amount is less than Rs500,000. In such cases, payment will be made to the nominee, provided a Family Registration Certificate (FRC) from NADRA and an affidavit for fair distribution among heirs are submitted. If the nominee is a minor, or the nomination is invalid, a succession certificate will be required.
Investments in these bonds and the prize money earned will be exempt from compulsory Zakat deductions, but tax will apply to the prize money as per applicable laws.
The CDNS will establish procedures for the sale, encashment, prize money distribution, and other related processes to ensure smooth implementation of these rules.
