The 61st meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue was held today at the Parliament House, under the chairmanship of Member National Assembly (MNA) Faiz Ullah.
Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman briefed the Committee about the action taken by the FBR on the implementation of the Benami Act.
He said that 500 cases were identified, out of which fifty-five (55) references have been launched.
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The Committee members expressed their concerns over the process of execution of the Benami Act by the FBR at ground level.
The Committee noted that Anti-Money Laundering Act’s rules and regulations need to be reviewed for its effective implementation.
The FBR Chairman assured the Committee that FBR always puts taxpayer facilitation as its topmost priority.
He further informed that a robust internal control mechanism is in place to ensure transparency. A policy of non-interactive system-based disposal of business is followed, i.e., all kinds of notices are issued electronically bearing Bar Code. Therefore, all possible measures have been put in place to arrest the incidence of harassment.
The Committee unanimously directed that FBR should launch an awareness campaign for the public about the rules of AML and Benami Act.
The Committee also discussed the issue regarding the missing of non-duty paid auctioned vehicles. Member Customs informed the Committee that the subject news item is distorting the facts without seeking any input/feedback from the concerned department, which shows a complete lack of journalistic ethics on the part of the reporting. He explained the facts and background of the matter.
After a detailed discussion, the Committee recommended that all Provincial Secretaries of Excise and Taxation departments may be called in the next meeting of the Committee.
The Committee noted that implementation of Regulatory Duty (RD) on any item should be considered in light of the requirements of the local level. The Committee recommended that local manufacturers may be invited to the next meeting for final directions to the FBR in that regard.
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The Committee discussed the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill, 2020, clause by clause. However, THE Committee could not complete its reading due to a shortage of time and decided that further discussion will be carried by tomorrow’s meeting.
The meeting was attended by Dr. Aisha Ghous Pasha, Faheem Khan, Ali Pervaiz, Jamil Ahmed Khan, Dr. Nafisa Shah, Amjad Ali Khan and Makhdoom Syed Sami ul Hassan Gillani, MNAs and Minister for Finance and Revenue besides the senior officers from M/o Finance and Revenue, Federal Board of Revenue.
