ISLAMABAD: A meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance has expressed displeasure over the absence of adviser on finance and chairperson Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) from the meeting particularly on the first
day of the discussion on the finance bill for the next fiscal year.
Today was the first day of the committee meeting and adviser on finance and chairman FBR should have come here said chairman of the committee Senator Farooq H Naek as soon as the committee started after inquiring about taking look at their empty seats.
He was also perturb over absence of the draftsman of Law Ministry from whose presence has always been very important on legal opinion before reaching final decision by the committee on any matter.
The committee also approved salary and allowance amendment bill for the parliamentarians, according to which one parliamentarian would be eligible for 25 travel vouchers and spouse and less than 18 years children of the
parliamentarian would also get benefit from the legislation.
The chairman of the committee stated that travel vouchers would have no impact on the exchequer because business class air tickets have been converted into the travel vouchers. He further stated that all the members of the upper house (Senate) were not wealthy.
In reply to a question of Senator Sherry Rehman that Gilgit-Baltistan was not being provided subsidy and Rs34 billion has been allocated for grant to the GB, Secretary Finance Naveed Kamran Baloch assured the members of providing information after talking with his team.
The committee also sought details of total loans from the Ministry of Finance.
The committee members also opposed the tax exemptions on the specific names of the companies, their contractors and sub-contractors at Gwadar Port, and wanted to have full knowledge about the companies that are being provided tax exemptions.
Senator said that these exemptions were being misused and committee decided Ministry of Maritime turn up in the meeting today to explain the reasons before that the committee makes recommendations.
Senator Mohsin Aziz argued that first the committee should seek details that who signed these agreements with China as government to government deal.
It was decided that the Ministry of Maritime Affairs representative would be summoned on Wednesday (today) to get details of signed agreement with the Chinese side.
The FBR's Member Customs, Javed Ghani, informed the committee that amendments in Custom Act, 1989, were being made as per code and there are 1,200 tariff lines with the FBR in HS codes.
The committee, however, decided to delay the proposed amendment in the Custom Act with the view of knowing the legal aspects of the amendments.
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