PAC chief orders audit of tobacco industry’s returns

ISLAMABAD: Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman Syed Khursheed Shah on Thursday ordered for special audit of the tax returns of the Tobacco Industry and Pakistan Tobacco Company.

The meeting of the PAC was held Thursday with the chair of its chairman Syed Khursheed Shah in which it examined the losses to the national exchequer due to low taxes on the cigarettes. FBR Chairman Tariq Pasha told the committee that tax of Rs114 billion were collected on cigarettes prior to current ratio of taxes as now Excise duty has been reduced due to which tax collection of decrease to Rs84 billion from Rs114 billion.

The FBR chairman told the committee that the current slabs of tax on cigarettes were introduced in the last year’s finance bill as due to higher taxes, the legal sale was decreased and illegal sale of cigarettes was o rise. “To reduce the illegal sale of cigarettes and bring them into tax net, the ratio of taxes reduced for cigarettes,” he told the committee. PAC Chairman Syed Khursheed Shah remarked that instead of stopping the thief, you are justifying the reduction of taxes.

“What was the fault of those who were paying their taxes as instead of stopping the illegal sale justifying the reduction of taxes on cigarettes,” he said.The PAC chairman questioned that whether the three tax slabs for the cigarettes were introduced to benefit some special brand of the company and whey not instead three only two slabs be introduced for cigarettes. PAC member Senator Azam Swati said the FBR officials in the area of cigarettes manufacturing company turned into millionaire and one of his relative become millionaire.

The PAC Chairman said he was unable to understand how the production of cigarette stick of 56 billion to 29 billion stick in one year and when the three slabs were introduced the production was again reached to 48 billion sticks. “It seems that it was a planned strategy that in one year reduced the production and after getting reduction in taxes the production increased very next year,” he said.The FBR chairman, while referring to multinational companies, he said the PTC is international brand, and they have their own board of directors.

The PAC chairman said angrily that they did not allow smoking cigarettes in their countries but selling the cancer in our country as 150,000 people in Pakistan suffering from cancer every year. He directed the auditor general of Pakistan for special audit of tax returns of the Tobacco companies and Pakistan Tobacco Company.