The Public Account Committee (PAC) met at the Parliament House with MNA Rana Tanveer Hussain in the chair to discuss the FBR’s audit objections.
The Chairman of the FBR, Ashfaq Ahmed, informed the committee that it is facing problems in the collection of tax due to the court cases. He mentioned that the FBR is working hard to recover the amount by actively pursuing these court cases and said, “We have also submitted a request for the formulation of special benches in high courts and the Supreme Court to decide the tax matters as earliest”.
The Chairman of the PAC said that Rs. 1,300 billion is a huge amount and directed FBR to vacate the stay orders from the courts to collect the amount from the defaulters.
The committee was informed that the amount could not be collected due to restraining orders regarding tax matters from different courts in the country.
Furthermore, the matter related to the appointment of renowned chartered accountant, Shabbar Zaidi, as the Chairman of the FBR by the incumbent government was also discussed. Khawaja Muhammad Asif has said that it is Zaidi’s moral duty to decline the offer for the position as there is a clear clash of interest regarding his appointment.
The PAC Chairman added there were some complaints about the unjustified tax returns to the businesses that were previously Zaidi’s clients as a chartered accountant.
The FBR Chairman explained the mechanism of tax refunds and told the committee that Zaidi has no direct role in the process and the latter had made the returns under the policy.
He said if there had been any irregularities during Zaidi’s tenure the audit would have shown them, but nothing of the sort had surfaced. He added that if the PAC wants to summon the former Chairman of the FBR to brief the committee on this matter, it can do so.
Additionally, the FBR Chairman stated that the tax return system was reformed over the last two years and that tax refunds are regarding tax refunds that was approved by the government during the pandemic had helped to sustain the economy.
The PAC also discussed the non-payment of outstanding bills for the bulk supplies of electricity and gas by the provinces consumed at the provincial government offices. Asif remarked that the Government of Sindh has to pay Rs. 110 billion for an electricity bill six years ago, and the Minister for Science and Technology, Shibli Faraz, added that the Government of Balochistan is responsible for arrears of Rs. 250 billion.
Chairman Hussain recommended that deductions be made from the National Finance Commission (NFC) shares of the provinces for the outstanding payments and Minister Faraz told him to come up with amendments in the NFC laws and that the government would support them.
