PAC gives PHF three months to settle tax issue

ISLAMABAD: The Public Accounts Committee’s sub-committee has given the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) three months to settle a tax payment dispute.

A PAC meeting took serious note of the PHF’s failure to deduct taxes from the money given as commission to those who lured sponsorship from 2008 to 2015. The PHF, during that period, did not deduct a single penny from the amount given to agents.

The PAC has asked the hockey federation to deposit an amount of Rs5.4 million in the government treasury in three months.

PHF Secretary Asif Bajwa appeared before the committee and sought one year to settle the tax issue. However, the sub-committee headed by Senator Sherry Rehman in consultation with the Inter Provincial Coordination minister and other officials gave the PHF three months.

When ‘The News’ approached Bajwa, he said the PAC’s directions would be followed.

“All those agents who lured sponsorship in this period will be asked to submit the tax as directed by the PAC sub-committee. We will make sure the taxes are submitted,” he said.

The sub-committee observed that deduction of taxes from all payments is a prerequisite. “The PHF should have deducted taxes from each payment they made to agents. The federation has three months to pay the pending taxes,” a member said.

Meanwhile, the PHF successfully negotiated another objection pointed out by the Accountant General’s audit report on the appointment of Dutch coach Michel van den Heuvel on a heavy salary package.

The PHF secretary said the Pakistan Sports Board had hired his services. “He was appointed as the head coach of the Pakistan hockey team under the government policy. The PSB has also hired coaches for other sports federations in the past,” Bajwa said.

These audit objections are for the period from 2008 to 2015. The audit objections for the 2015-2018 period, when Shahbaz Ahmad Senior was the PHF secretary, will be considered later.