Ministry of Finance to Amend Competition Commission’s Act

Senate Standing Committee on Finance, which met with Senator Saleem Mandviwalla heading the meeting, discussed the Competition Commission’s Act and the matter of 7,500 jobs in the FATA region. Senator Sirajul Haq’s bill on legality of interest in Pakistan was also taken into consideration.

Amendment in Competition Commissions’s Act

The committee was briefed on the progress report by the Ministry of Finance, on the working papers submitted by the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP), to amend its act to enhance revenue.

The Commission carries out its function by prohibiting anti-competitive activities by advocating pro-competitive laws and policies and conducting research on competition issues.

The working paper submitted by Competition Commission of Pakistan suggested that in order for CCP to meet its mandate of ensuring healthy competition in the economy, it is necessary to make it financially sustainable and independent.

Fee for the CCP

Section 20 of the Competition Act mandates that a percentage of the fee and charges levied by other regulatory agencies in Pakistan should be used as a source of income for CCP to ensure its financial independence.

Furthermore, SRO (1)/2008 of the Finance Division requires the five regulatory agencies i.e. SECP, NEPRA, OGRA, PTA, and PEMRA to pay 3% of their fees to CCP.

The Law and Justice Division also support the CCP’s viewpoint. Currently, only SECP is paying the prescribed percentage of its fee and charges to the CCP.

The Finance Division after analyzing the proposal submitted by CCP has asked the CCP to complete the necessary consultation with the regulatory bodies before applying the proposed amendments.

The consultation process has already started and discussions are underway with the regulatory bodies. The committee decided to prepare a report and get it approved from the Senate to make the CCP financially viable.

Prohibition of Interest on Private Loans Bill

The committee also considered a private member’s bill to prohibit the business of private money lending and advancing loans and transactions based on interest (The Islamabad Capital Territory Prohibition of Interest on Private Loans Bill, 2017) moved by Senator Sirajul Haq.

Haq said that the injunctions of Islam, as laid down in the Holy Quran and Sunnah, have explicitly prohibited charging interest on loans and have declared war against those who do not abandon this illicit practice.

It is necessary to make a comprehensive legislation on the subject that covers all aspects of private money lending and similar matters. Interest-based loans have badly affected the already poor economic condition of the Pakistani population.

Due to private loan transactions the public is oppressed by the lenders. They  are unable to pay even the principal amount. Lenders continuously harass the people to recover the amount with multiplied interest amount. This bill seeks to achieve these cited objectives. All the committee members supported the bill.

Earlier, the Finance Ministry had refused to take ownership for the proposed legislation saying that it isn’t under its jurisdiction. But after the Law Ministry’s clarification, the Finance Ministry agreed to consider the bill and give its input in 30 days.

Posts in FATA

The committee also considered the calling attention to a notice moved by Senator Hidayat Ullah, regarding the approval of 7,500 new sanctioned posts for FATA which have been approved by the FATA Secretariat and the Ministry of SAFRON.

The Finance Ministry responded that no case for creation of 7,500 new posts of FATA Secretariat is pending with Finance Division.

It is worth mentioning that earlier under the direction of minister for SAFRON, a meeting was convened which was attended by representatives of SAFRON Division, FATA Secretariat and Finance Division (FA’s Organization).

It was decided that the SAFRON Division and FATA Secretariat will work together to rationalize the proposed posts and will send their recommendations to Finance Division for further processing.

However, the same has not been furnished to the Finance Division, therefore, creation of 7500 posts is pending with Finance Division.

Submitting the Proposal

The FATA Secretariat official said that between May 2, 2016 and May 26, 2017, FATA Secretariat submitted the proposal for creation of 5,544 posts of different categories, at a cost of Rs 1,661.240 million per annum, to Finance Division for its attached departments/directorates and educational and health facilities in FATA/FRs.

The Finance Division conveyed certain observations on these proposals on different occasions, which were formally responded to by the FATA Secretariat.

However, the Finance Ministry official said that there is a disagreement over the high cost. The committee recommended holding a meeting in 15 days to resolve the matter.