Cabinet approves new inquiry bill

Also okays signing of accord with OECD countries to get access to money stashed abroad; POL prices to remain unchanged for next month; new coin of Rs10 to be issued; Dar says govt to file review petition with SC against decision to get cabinet’s approval on fiscal matters

ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet has accorded approval to a draft legislation for constituting a powerful probe commission to investigate mega corruption allegations in the light of the direction of the Supreme Court. The Pakistan’s Commission of Inquiry Bill 2016 would replace the Commission of Inquiry Act of 1956.

The new comprehensive law would be placed before the National Assembly tomorrow (Friday). Earlier, the government and the opposition had failed to reach a consensus bill for the purpose despite the special committee’s eight marathon meetings known as the TORs Committee.

The meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif here at the PM House, also approved the change of Rs5 coin and introduction of Rs10 coin.

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s judgment to get approval of the cabinet on fiscal matters, the government got approval of the cabinet on tax laws, validation on all decisions taken by the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCOP) and other cabinet committees as well as input adjustment on provincial services and enhancing valuation on property. All decisions taken at the forum of Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet will also be presented in the next cabinet meetings as preparations in this regard are underway. The cabinet also approved to launch a Rs10 coin.

Briefing reporters here at the PM Secretariat at the end of the cabinet meeting, Federal Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar said the cabinet also approved to keep the prices of petroleum products unchanged for the next month (September 2016). “We respect the Supreme Court of Pakistan’s judgment for getting approval of each matter from the cabinet but the government has decided to file a review petition against this verdict,” Dar said.

He also said that the government was working on bringing changes in foreign exchange related laws introduced during the Musharraf regime under which the government could not raise any question on transaction for sending foreign exchange abroad. The State Bank of Pakistan had recently disclosed that $7.4 billion were remitted outside Pakistan in recent years.

Flanked by Minister for Information & Broadcasting Pervaiz Rashid, Finance Minister Dar said that the federal cabinet ratified multilateral agreements with the countries that have signed conventions on the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on exchange of information and he would sign this agreement on September 14, 2016 in Paris. This multilateral agreement with the OCED, he said, would become operational by the end of 2017 after which Pakistan and other member countries would be able to seek exchange of information on regular basis.

The minister said that the cabinet also granted its approval on initiation of Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement with Switzerland but it might take some time from the Swiss side to get approval from their respective authorities, so parleys with them would kick-start by the next year.

The minister said the prime minister had granted him powers to sign multilateral agreements with the OECD countries on September 14 in Paris. “No one had shown courage in the last 70 years to sign such an agreement,” he added.

Ishaq Dar said the meeting had approved a system for any change in petroleum prices. He said under the system, Ogra will move a summary to the Ministry of Petroleum and the Petroleum Ministry will send it to the Ministry of Finance after review.

The Finance Ministry, after reviewing its impact on the people, will send the summary to the prime minister who will take the final decision and would make price adjustment in petroleum products either on fortnightly or monthly basis. “It will be difficult for us to change the petroleum prices bi-monthly but the cabinet has granted its approval to this effect,” he added.

He said the government had to absorb Rs10.5 billion for keeping the prices of POL products unchanged for the last several months and it was also approved that it would remain the same the next month.

He said the cabinet had approved to table Pakistan’s Commission of Inquiry Bill 2016 in order to amend the existing Inquiry of Commission Act 1956 in line with the chief justice’s letter to the government that this act had turned the commission into a toothless body. “We will table this bill in the National Assembly on September 2, 2016 with the intention to empower the upcoming commission,” he added.

The East Pakistan Debacle Commission or Osama Bin Laden Commission were also constituted under the same 1956 Act, he said and added that the Supreme Court had termed it toothless, so it was an evolutionary process that the government decided to empower this inquiry commission for all future endeavours. It was the discretion of the opposition parties to label the Terms of Reference (ToRs) committee as a dead horse but we will continue moving for bringing them to the negotiation table.

To another query regarding the $200 billion stashed in the Swiss bank accounts, the minister dispelled this impression that he had made any statement to this effect and explained that this statement was given by a minister of Switzerland but as matter of principle if it were $2 billion or $200 billion, the government would move ahead to get all kinds of information.

Regarding the Supreme Court’s verdict for getting approval of the cabinet on fiscal matters, the minister said that the government had decided to file a review petition against this decision. He recalled that the apex court had given a verdict against the supplementary grants but the government had filed a review petition and the Supreme Court had granted permission to this effect because no country could be run without this provision.

When asked about revenue impact because of revised valuation rates of property, the minister said that the rates were jacked up by 200 to 1,000 percent and it was expected that the tax revenues would be increased by eight to nine times, increasing from Rs8-9 billion to Rs80-90 billion in the ongoing financial year.

On the tax laws, the minister said that the cabinet approved to insert a proviso for explaining an exemption of Shaheed (martyred) families for enhanced valuation of property and imposed taxes. He said that the Term Finance Certificate and Sukuk rate would remain the same at two percent and Presidential Ordinance for provincial services input adjustments would be promulgated on Wednesday night. The FBR and the Sindh Revenue Board, he said, had signed an agreement to this effect for making input adjustments and the Presidential Ordinance will become effective from September 1, 2016. For previous transactions from July 1, 2016 to August 31, 2016, the FBR will issue a notification for clearing of input adjustments.

Dar said the cabinet also approved a scheme for medical treatment of the poor and deserving citizens, suffering from fatal diseases, including kidney, liver, bone-marrow and cancer.