Sindh accuses revenue body of ‘unlawfully’ reclaiming Rs6.7bln

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Thursday accused Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for ‘unlawfully’ retrieving around seven billion rupees from the provincial bank account in lieu of advance income tax on motor vehicle registration.

Shah, during a meeting with the members of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), said FBR reclaimed Rs6.7 billion on the pretext that the provincial excise and taxation department had deposited low amount of tax collection to national kitty as compared to the reported number of registered vehicles during the last fiscal 2016/17.

Sindh chief minister said the provincial department had deposited the rightful amount of tax against the registered number of motor vehicles. The FBR calculated the tax amount on the basis of total registered number of cars reported on media, he added.

The minister said another Rs249 million under different head was also retrieved from Sindh government’s account maintained at the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP). NBP allowed the recovery by FBR from the amount collected under infrastructure cess without informing the provincial government, he added.

Shah further said the provincial government is endeavouring to make Sindh Revenue Board as a facilitator organisation for taxpayers. On national census, he said the provincial government didn’t approve the numbers at the Council of Common Interest. “I had asked the federal government, even before the counting, to make the census transparent.”

Provincial chief minister said federal authorities should provide the data of each block, which covers around 250 houses during the census. On deteriorating state of Karachi, he said the provincial government had allocated Rs10 billion for development projects in Karachi for 2016/17 and disbursed around Rs8 billion to the local government. “One should ask the local government where the funds had spent.”

Shah said recently a meeting discussed Article 158 of the Constitution and the provinces agreed that the right of use of resources, especially on gas, should be given to a province where it is discovered.

Shamim Firpo, president of KCCI said the industry is facing water shortage. He said there is sufficient water available, but there is need to manage it. The chief minister attended the KCCI meeting with his cabinet ministers, including Minister for Transport Nasir Shah, Minister for Commerce and Industries Manzoor Wassan, Minister for Excise and Taxation Mukesh Chawla and Minister for Local Government Jam Khan Shoro.