PESHAWAR: Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly has directed Audit, Excise & Taxation (E&T) Departments to constitute a joint panel and present report to committee regarding current position of the 182 seized vehicles to collect facts regarding the non-auctioning and their alleged allotment to unauthorized persons.
The Audit Report for financial year 2013-14 has declared Excise & Taxation Department responsible for inflicting a loss of Rs.124.090 million due to the not auctioning of those vehicles.
The directives were issued during third round of the PAC meeting held at KP House, Abbottabad with Deputy Speaker, Dr. Meher Taj Roghani in the chair. Beside, MPAs, audit authorities and officials of the concerned departments attended the meeting.
The PAC meeting disposed of audit objections regarding University of Engineering & Technology (UET) and different expenditures of the Excise and Taxation Department.
The committee after detailed discussion on the absence of 14 vehicles from the warehouse out of 182 confiscated vehicles mentioned in report of the Excise Department and paras regarding inflicting of a loss of Rs.18.2 million to the national exchequer referred the matter to a joint committee. Audit Department had pinpointed the alleged irregularities during the audit of financial year 2011-12.
The chairperson expressed concern over the matter that despite pin pointing of financial irregularities, departments did not correct their financial matters, which not only create further complications rather also further overburden the committee. She expressed concern that departments spend most of their times on going through old reports and keep real problem deferred.
Disposing audit objections regarding Engineering University, the Deputy Speaker decided the recovery of the loss of Rs.3.944 million to national exchequer due delay in the construction of the sports gymnasium and directed departmental investigation into the responsible persons.
She also directed all departments before coming to PAC should hold their meetings in the presence of the Secretary Assembly and provide all necessary documents within a period of at least two weeks in any circumstances.
The chairperson also took notice of delay in the verification of the documentary proofs by Audit Department presented by the departments and directed the Director General (DG) Audit to constitute separate team for the purpose as most of the audit objections are generating due lack of verification.
