The non-collection of value-added tax (VAT) has caused a loss of Rs. 2.56 billion to the national exchequer. Audit officials revealed this in a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament while reviewing the audit report of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for the fiscal year 2019-20. The meeting was chaired by Noor Alam Khan.
The audit officials said that ten field offices of the FBR did not collect VAT in 6,874 cases, and clearance of imported and seized items was also done without tax collection. The officials added that these items were cleared in 2018–19, which the audit pointed out in November 2019.
The PAC instructed that the officials involved be identified and held responsible.
The officials of the FBR claimed that Rs. 251.5 million had been recovered so far. In response, the PAC directed that the audit officials be provided with the records to verify the claim.
Moreover, the Chairman of the FBR said that cases worth more than Rs. 2 billion are pending in court.
