close
Friday March 29, 2024

PAC for blocking CNICs of tax defaulters

By Asim Yasin
April 27, 2017

ISLAMABAD: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Tuesday recommended blocking of computerised national identity cards (CNICs) of the tax defaulters as well as those who did not pursue their cases relating to taxes in the courts of law while using delaying tactics.

The PAC directed the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to sit with the Interior Ministry to seek assistance from the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) to block the CNICs of those who either are defaulters and using delaying tactics in court cases. The PAC held its meeting Tuesday with acting chairman Sardar Aashiq Gopang in the chair, who presided the meeting in the absence of PAC Chairman Syed Khursheed Shah.

During the meeting, the audit paras relating the FBR for the year 2013-14 were examined. The FBR complained that the government departments were not producing record to the FBR. “The Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) and National Logistics Cell (NLC) are not providing data to the FBR despite the fact that both are big withholding agents,” the FBR officials told the committee.

The department of Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) pointed out irregularities of Rs169.74 billion in the FBR during the financial year 2013-14 and according to its report an amount of Rs26.37 billion of inland revenue were stuck up in the court cases while the FBR verified a recovery of Rs20 billion from the audit department.

Acting AGP Haq Nawaz proposed initiating criminal cases against defaulters and said the chairman FBR should write a letter to Nadra for blocking the CNICs of the defaulters and legislation be made through the Finance Bill. The PAC member Pervaiz Malik proposed that not only the CNICs be blocked of the tax defaulters but also their passports should also be blocked.

Muhammad Irshad agreed with the proposal of the AGP saying the budget making process is going on and this proposal will be made a part of the Finance Bill 2017 for the legislation.The issue started when the FBR told the PAC that more than Rs300 billion related to taxes were stuck up in the courts where cases were pending.

The FBR chairman told the committee that it was facing problems in recovery cases due to stay orders that continued more than six months and they need the help of the Parliament for legislation. He said the FBR has paced up the recovery campaign and in the light of directions of the PAC for the pursuing the pending cases in the courts, requests have been made to high courts and other courts to formulate benches for case hearings. The FBR chairman told the committee that the institution has given special attention on the revamp the legal wing. “Earlier, the lawyers who were pursuing the recovery of billions of rupees were getting only Rs20,000 to Rs30,000 monthly salaries but now the lawyers are getting Rs65,000 monthly,” he told the committee. He said a software has been developed for the monitoring of taxes.

To a query of the PAC, the FBR chairman said the FBR sought the assistance from Nadra, SECP and other government departments with regard to recoveries. “However, the FBR did not have the powers to block the CNICs of defaulters,” he told the committee.To another query, the FBR chairman told the committee that presently Southern Power, Liberty Power, Saba Power, PTCL and Rocsh Limitid were major defaulters.