ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has withdrawn about Rs2 billion from Punjab Revenue Authority’s (PRA) bank accounts.
Sources said that the FBR authorities had asked the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) to reverse some transactions of PRA. These transactions, involving nearly Rs2 billion, were reversed on June 28 and June 29, officials said.
Punjab’s Finance Secretary Hamid Yaqoob Sheikh confirmed the development. The Punjab government has decided to formally take up the issue with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the federal government, said provincial finance secretary. Sheikh maintained that such acts were not welcomed, as both the departments could have resolved the issue amicably.
The Punjab government was of the view that the money belonged to the provincial authority but even if there was a dispute, there was no justification of moving without PRA’s permission, said Sheikh.
But officials in the FBR claimed that about Rs2 billion had been deposited in the NBP branch on account of sales tax on goods, which was FBR’s subject. They said that the NBP erroneously credited about Rs2 billion into the accounts of PRA. The FBR only reversed these transactions, they added.
