Sindh asks Centre to stop collecting its tax money

Karachi
The Sindh chief minister noted with concern on Monday that the federal government was still collecting revenue of several departments devolved to the province under the 18th constitutional amendment, and told the provincial authorities to ensure implementation of the laws to enable the province to generate the tax money itself.
Chairing a meeting at the CM House, Syed Qaim Ali Shah directed the officials to ensure early implementation of legislation made by his government to recover money from the Workers Welfare Fund (WWF), the Sindh Employees Old-age Benefits Institution (EOBI) and Zakat in accordance with the spirit of the 18th amendment.
He told the officials to table a bill in the coming session of the Sindh Assembly for legislation to take over the Companies Workers Participation Fund (CWPF) to avoid losses to the tune of billions of rupees to the province.
The chief minister objected to the charging of the federal excise duty (on services in the province and recommended the federal government to denotify it, saying that after the 18th amendment, this duty was the right of the provincial government.
The meeting also decided that by virtue of efficiency and performance, the scope of the Sindh Revenue Board was to be widened and it be would assigned the task of collecting revenue of the devolved departments.
Shah said that after the passage of the 18th amendment, many subjects were still with the federal government, causing huge financial losses to the province. He directed the officials to evolve a strategy and ensure that the rights devolved to the province were enjoyed by the people of province.
“We have passed the laws about the establishment of the Sindh Employees Old-age Benefits Institution (SEOBI), Workers Welfare Fund (WWF) and Sindh Zakat Act 2011 to take over these services, but still they are with the federal government, causing a huge loss to the province.”
It was a great achievement of the PPP government and must be implemented in letter and spirit, he said. When the meeting was informed about the unfulfilled requirements for the constitution of the Board of Trustee, Shah directed the labour and law departments to constitute the Board of Trustee for Both and the WWF and also frame rules for the recovery of Zakat within two weeks.
Briefing the meeting, Senator Saleem Mandviwala, chairman of the Senate standing committee on finance, revenue & economic affairs, said that after the passage of the 18th amendment there were many financial recoveries which came under the ambit of the Sindh government, but they were still being made by the central government.
He said they were losing an estimated of Rs12 billion only under the head of the WWF and more or less Rs5 billion had been accumulated on account of the Companies Workers Participation Fund (CWPF), as after the 18th amendment companies refused to pay the amount to the federal government and challenged it in the court of law.
Responding to the briefing made by Senator Mandviwala, the chief minister directed the secretaries of all devolved departments to prepare summaries on departmental assets and submit them within a month so that they could be taken over from the federal government.
Sindh Senior Minister for Finance & Energy Syed Murad Ali Shah, Adviser on Labour Ali Junejo, Adviser on Zakat , Dost Mohammad Rahmoon, Principal Secretary to the CM Alumuddin Bullo, Finance Secretary Sohail Rajput , Chairman SRB Tashfeen Khalid, Advocate General Fatah Malik, the labour secretary and other officers attended the meeting.