Day: December 1, 2021

Public Accounts Committee of the parliament raised concerns over rampant corruption and sale of substandard items in Utility Stores Corporation. The committee proposed to close the corporation if it can’t deliver to the masses.

A meeting of the Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee was held in Parliament House chaired by Rana Tanveer Hussain. While hearing the audit objections of the Utility Stores Corporation it was revealed by audit officials that the employees of the utility stores have embezzled Rs. 4 crores. The audit officials revealed that the employees of the utility stores sent money to their personal accounts. The FIA officials told the committee that Rs. 1.38 million has been recovered in the case, while the Secretary Ministry of Industries and Production informed that the employees involved were sentenced to 5-7 years by the courts.

Chairman Public Accounts Committee, Rana Tanveer Hussain, remarked that the platform of utility stores was being misused. The work of the Utility Stores Corporation should be in the public interest. People are being poisoned by buying substandard flour from blacklisted mills. He went on to say that the world’s most substandard ghee is being sold at utility stores. He said that Utility Stores Corporation is submitting a report that no substandard item is being sold on its stores while they continue fooling the MPs and the public.

The Public Accounts Committee instructed the authorities to remove substandard items from the stores. Committee member, Noor Alam Khan, said that the pulses found in utility stores are so hard that they cannot be cooked easily and are not edible. Committee member, Khawaja Asif, said that utility stores corporation is a big fraud, and bureaucracy is a major cause of the national disorder. Khawaja Asif said that the only solution is to close utility stores. He further added that the sale of substandard goods is being done under the nose of the Secretary Industry and Production.

Noor Alam also lambasted the USC for bad services. He said that there is no accountability of civil, military, and judges in this country, as cases of 80 years and 100 years are pending in the courts without any action. Rana Tanveer Hussain said that the new MD of Utility Stores Corporation has been brought to make the company profitable, but the utility stores should be for providing cheap goods to the people. The Chairman of the committee criticized the government and management of the USC. He noted that the government had announced Rs. 50 billion funds to provide subsidy through Utility Stores for the COVID relief, but only Rs. 10 billion were released so far, and moreover, there are traces of corruption in the aforementioned COVID relief package. He said that the government allocated Rs. 1200 billion for COVID relief, and everyone at the helm of affairs got their share. He commented that only a few hundred billion rupees were spent, and nobody knows where the rest of the money had gone. He ordered the Federal Investigation Agency to table the USC investigation within ten days.

Source: Pro Pakistani

Determining the fair market value of immovable properties, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has considerably raised the value of domestic and commercial properties in 40 cities. The revision, to be effective from December 1, 2021, has been made on the basis of per marla of some cities.

According to details, FBR issued 40 notifications on Wednesday to increase the values of properties including housing schemes and housing societies.

In Karachi, properties have been categorized in seven areas for the determination of their values. The categories include residential open plot per square yard, residential built-up property per square yard, commercial open plot per square yard, commercial built-up property per square yard, industrial open plot per square yard, industrial built-up property per square foot, and flats/apartments per square foot.

The value of almost all residential and commercial immovable properties of Pakistan has been increased in an attempt to bring them at par with the fair market values.

The FBR has enhanced the market value of residential and commercial immovable properties located in Abbottabad, Attock, Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur, Chakwal, Dera Ismail Khan, DG Khan, Faisalabad, Ghotki, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Gwadar, Hafizabad, Hyderabad, Islamabad, Jhang, Jhelum, Karachi, Kasur, Khushab, Lahore, Larkana, Lasbela, Mandibahauddin, Mansehra, Mardan, Mirpurkhaas, Multan, Nankna, Narowal, Peshawar, Quetta, Rahim Yar Khan, Rawalpindi, Sahiwal, Sargodha, Sheikhupura, Sialkot, Sukkur, and Toba Tek Singh.

The values have been raised on the basis of size in square yards for other cities. The property area value has been determined on the basis of per marla basis for other cities.

FBR has determined the fair market value of immovable properties in the exercise of the powers conferred by Sub-section (4) of Section 68 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, and in supersession of its notifications.

Source: Pro Pakistani

Federal Minister for Privatization, Mohammed Mian Soomro, has said that the transaction of Heavy Electrical Complex (HEC) is nearing completion, as the related pending matters are being resolved and the potential investors are being facilitated.

According to a handout issued by Privatization Commission, the Minister chaired the second pre-bid meeting on HEC in Islamabad on Wednesday. He said the Ministries of Industries and Production, Power, and Privatization were in close liaison to resolve all matters of HEC related to land transfer, in-hand orders, and liabilities toward Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Economic Zones Development & Management Compay (KPEZDMC) before the final bidding.

He underlined that it was the Ministry’s priority to address the concerns and answer the questions raised by the investors to successfully complete the transaction.

The first meeting was held in August 2021 and the queries raised by the potential bidders regarding qualification criteria, bidding process, and payment structure were addressed.

A detailed presentation was made to the four pre-qualified bidders, and the queries from them were addressed. The earnest money for this transaction was approved and accepted by the bidders and it was Rs. 50 million.

The meeting participants were told that KPEZDMC would facilitate the lease transfer to the new buyer and a letter of comfort had also been issued to the company regarding outstanding liabilities

The financial advisors also gave a detailed briefing on the final bidding process. It was also informed that upon the request of bidders, the revised Invitation to Bid and Sales and Purchase Agreement documents had been shared. The latest audited accounts of HEC had also been shared with bidders.

The bidders raised a question regarding hand-orders, to which the Federal Minister said that the matter had already been communicated to Economic Coordination Committee and would be resolved before the bidding date.

Federal Minister, Mohammed Mian Soomro, affirmed that the HEC bidding was likely to be completed very shortly. He said, “we are providing a level playing field to all the pre-qualified bidders, and ensuring the utmost transparency at the same time.”

Federal Secretary, Hassan Nasir Jamy, also attended the meeting along with the representatives of HEC, Ministry of Industries & Production, Financial Advisors, bidders, and legal advisors.

Source: Pro Pakistani

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) registered 215 First Information Reports (FIRs) against 267 people under the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Act in the last four years.

Chairman FBR, Muhammad Ashfaq Ahmad, shared this with the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue which met under the chair of MNA Faiz Ullah on Wednesday.

The committee discussed the problems being faced by the business community due to obscurity regarding the implementation of the AML Act and the role of law enforcement agencies in this regard.

The Chairman FBR informed the parliamentary panel that FBR lodged 215 FIRs against 267 people. He added that FBR had completed investigations into 44 cases related to money laundering and investigations into another 170 cases were underway. He said the government had also confiscated properties worth Rs. 235 billion besides detecting Rs. 76 billion tax evasion as well as freezing 640 bank accounts.

The Chairman NA panel said that the business community had expressed serious concerns over the AML Act. Tax evasion and money laundering are two different things and FBR should facilitate the business community, he underlined.

The Chairman FBR said the government had authorized FBR to deal with money laundering cases. “We have not prosecuted the people in money laundering cases,” he said, admitting that the enactment of the law had created fear in the business community.

A committee member sought from the government the details of Saudi Arabia’s financial assistance worth $4.2 billion as Saudi Arabia had agreed to place $3 billion in the State Bank of Pakistan account and would provide a deferred oil payment facility.

The committee also discussed the Federal Government Properties Management Authority Bill, 2021 (Ordinance No. XV of 2021). Members expressed concern on the objectives of the Bill as members belonging to the Pakistan Peoples Party and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz have opposed the bill. They said that it would open a new pandora box.

The committee recommended that the Ministry of Finance and Revenue would obtain the views of the Ministry of Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives whether they had received any input from the concerned stakeholders such as the Ministry of Housing and Works, Ministry of Privatization, and Ministry of Maritime Affairs.

The committee decided that said bill would be discussed in the next meeting.

Source: Pro Pakistani

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has advised all the Chambers of Commerce & Industries, trade entities, and trade associations of the country to strictly comply with the legal requirements of the Track & Trace System for the sugar sector to avoid any legal actions.

In this connection, Project Director Track and Trace System, FBR, issued a letter to all the stakeholders.

In the letter, FBR has referred to Sales Tax General Order No.05 of 2021, wherein it was notified that no sugar bags, for the current crushing season 2021-22, would be allowed to move out from a production site and the factory premises or warehouses without affixation of tax stamps and Unique Identification Marks (UIMs) with effect from 11 November 2021.

FBR has highlighted that all supply chain operators including distributors, wholesalers, dealers, and retailers are also required not to accept or receive or sell any sugar bag of the current season without the tax stamp.

In case of non-compliance by any supply chain operator, action will be initiated in accordance with the provision of the Sales Tax Act, 1990.

Source: Pro Pakistani

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue, Shaukat Tarin, on Wednesday, directed the Ministry of Industries and Production to take measures to control the prices of edible oil.

He was presiding over the National Price Monitoring Committee (NPMC) meeting to review the prices of daily commodities and essential food items in the country.

The finance secretary briefed the NPMC about the weekly SPI situation which has decreased by 0.67% during the week under review. While reviewing the price trends of essential commodities, the Secretary of Finance apprised that prices of eight essential commodities registered a decline whereas prices of 23 items remained stable during the last week.

The finance secretary further updated NPMC that the price of wheat flour bags remained consistent at Rs. 1,100 per 20 kg due to the proactive measures of Punjab, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments and ICT administration. The daily release of wheat by all the provincial governments will further ease out wheat prices at the national level.

Chief Secretary Punjab apprised that sufficient stocks of wheat are available and are released accordingly.

The adviser commended the efforts of the government of the Punjab, KP, and Islamabad administration and asked all provincial governments to ensure that all the released wheat is being converted into flour and is available in the market at government price.

While reviewing the price of sugar in the country, the finance secretary informed that prices are decreasing in the country due to proactive measures of the government. The new stocks of sugar are arriving in the market which will further lower the prices, he added.

The adviser expressed satisfaction over the stability in the sugar prices in the market.

While reviewing the prices of edible oil, the NMPC observed that the increase in prices of edible oil in the global market has affected the local prices.

The adviser directed the Ministry of Industries and Production to adjust the oil rates according to the prices in the international market especially when international prices are declining. He further advised making efforts for the availability of strategic reserves of edible oil.

The NPMC observed that Sastaa & Sahulat Bazaars in Punjab and KP are offering essential goods at subsidized prices. The adviser commended the efforts of the government of the Punjab, KP, and Islamabad administration in providing key items at discounted prices through arranging Sastaa Bazaars. The adviser directed to establish such bazaars in more cities to provide maximum relief to the people.

In his concluding remarks, the adviser stated that the government is taking all possible measures to ensure a smooth supply of essential commodities throughout the country.

Federal Minister for National Food Security & Research, Syed Fakhar Imam, Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting, Farrukh Habib, Secretary Finance, Secretary Industries & Production, Secretary National Food Security & Research, Additional Secretary Commerce, Chairman Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP), MD Utility Stores Corporation, Commissioner ICT, Provincial Chief Secretaries, Chief Statistician Pakistan Bureau of Statistics and other senior officers participated in the meeting.

Source: Pro Pakistani