ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Dr Muhammad Irshad has said that duty concessions have been granted in 5,109 cases.
The FBR chairman revealed this during a Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenues meeting, held under the chairmanship of Senator Saleem Mandviwalla at the Parliament House.
During the meeting, the Senate Committee chairman said that the FBR is at fault due to amnesty schemes and now they are harassing the taxpayers after several years. He alleged that the FBR is the most corrupt department and it protects all corrupt people. “What actions the FBR has taken against those who has granted more incentives in violation of rules provided under that amnesty scheme for clearing non-duty paid (NDP) vehicles,” he added.
The FBR chairman protested on declaring whole department corrupt. He said that the FBR would take action against those who had violated the law. He assured the committee that he would present a report before the committee after taking actions against their officers.
But the chairman of the committee did not seem to agree with the FBR high-ups and insisted that the FBR used to protect its corrupt officers.
The Customs’ top officials told the committee that there were 17,714 cases where lower model has been declared for providing incentives under the amnesty scheme in Quetta.
Senator Jamaldini said that the FBR officers were demanding extra money. He cited Section 32 of Customs Act whereby the FBR could take up cases of three years. However, the FBR high-ups took the stance that they could take up cases of the last five years.
The committee members took the unanimous stance that they would propose amendment in Customs Act in the upcoming budget. The senators were further irked when the FBR top officials told the committee that one FBR officer posted in AJK on deputation could not be repatriated so far back into the fold of the FBR.
The FBR’s Member Administration told the Committee that they wrote official communication to Establishment Division and then with AJK Council which took stance that because of stay order granted by High Court in AJK the services of officers could not be repatriated till the stay order got vacated.
The Senate Standing Committee on Finance also accused Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) of being remained unable to catch big fish involved in cartelisation.
