Not summoning meeting of policy board: Senate chairman to initiate action against FBR officials

ISLAMABAD: Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani has decided to "initiate action" against the top officials of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and has referred the matter to Senate Standing Committee on Rules of Procedure and Privileges while taking cognizance of a letter written by Senator Kauda Babar against the FBR top management for not summoning the meeting of FBR Policy Board.

Babar, an independent senator from Balochistan, has stepped down as a Member of FBR Policy Board in protest of the "attitude of FBR officials" against not summoning the meeting of the Policy Board.

According to a press release issued by Senate Secretariat on Thursday, Babar wrote a letter to chairman Senate in which he informed the chairman about the entire situation. Taking notice, the chairman referred the matter to the Senate standing concerned with the direction to present the related report at the earliest. "The attitude of the FBR is totally unacceptable. The committee should summon the FBR officials. Degrading the sanctity of the Parliament shall not be tolerated. Not calling the meeting of the FBR Policy Board is regrettable," the press release quoted Sanjrani as saying.

The FBR Policy Board was established in February last year when Asad Umar was Finance Minister. The Board is now headed by Advisor to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh as its Chairman and includes the ministers for Commerce, Textile, Industries and Privatization as its ex-officio members along with chairmen/chairpersons of standing committees on Finance and Revenue - Senate and National Assembly. Kauda Babar is one of the Board members in advisory capacity. After its maiden meeting in February 2019, the Policy Board is yet to hold any meeting.

This is not the first time chairman Senate has expressed annoyance over the attitude of the FBR officials. On June 15, the chairman Senate took strong notice of absence of senior FBR officials to brief the Senate on budget and summoned them on the Senate's next meeting. Those who were issued notices included chairperson FBR, member policy FBR, member Customs and member Income Tax.

"All of them should be present. The House proceedings won't start until they are present," Sanjrani said while presiding over Senate session on June 15. However, the matter was resolved when the FBR officials showed up at the Senate session held on June 17 to assist the government officials in responding to the queries of senators regarding Finance Bill 2020.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020