Senate Standing Committee on Commerce headed by Senator Syed Shibli Faraz on Wednesday cleared the National Tariff Commission Bill 2015 unanimously with some amendments proposed by the Senate Members aimed at strengthening the organisation preparing to deal with trade and services.
However, the committee deferred approval of the Anti Dumping Duties Bill, 2015 till Thursday (today) due to paucity of time. Senator Salim Mandviwala, Senator, Ilyas Bilour and Chairman Committee gave valuable suggestions which were made parts of the proposed National Tariff Commission Bill 2015. Commerce Minister Engineer Khurram Dastgir arrived at the meeting when it was about to conclude.
A representative of National Tariff Commission (NTC) briefed the committee that the Commission was facing a confusing situation due to the way superior courts were interpreting the NTC law. The committee approved an increase in fine amount and punishment. She cited 176 instances of interventions of superior courts in which courts granted stay and referred to a case with Indonesia which Pakistan lost due to a stay order. She further stated that NTC is currently going through anti-dumping cases related to China imports.
According to the draft National Tariff Commission Bill 2015, main issues being faced by the organisation is lack of quorum, lack of technical criteria and lack of statutory power. To deal with these issues, the committee approved a number of Commission members from 2 to 5, of which one member will be appointed Chairman, to be hired from the private sector. The tenure of NTC members will be five years extendable for one more year. Commerce Ministry had proposed three year extension to members after the expiry of a five year term but Senator Ilyas Bilour opposed the proposal and suggested the extension should only be for one year. He was supported by Salim Mandviwala, Syed Shibli Fraz and Secretary Commerce. The applicability of the NTC Ordinance will expire on June 30, 2015.
The Commission will have the authority to award three years' punishment and a penalty of Rs 5 million for giving inaccurate information. This clause of the NTC Act will also be applicable to the employees of organisation.
According to draft National Tariff Commission Bill 2015, an appellate tribunal will be constituted which will hear appeals against the decisions of the Commission which take a decision in three months. NTC is just an advisory body as its determinations or decisions are not binding and can be challenged in court of law. The committee was further informed that the pay structure of NTC has been brought near to private sector because 70 per cent employees had left the organisation due to a poor salary structure. Senator Ilyas Bilaour who is also a businessman remarked sarcastically "employees earn enough money in other ways".
Committee Chairman Senator Syed Shibli Fraz criticised the appointment of Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) S.M. Munir, without taking his name. He argued that the appointment of a businessman for this slot may be a conflict of interest. Senator Ilyas Bilour gave comments in favour of S.M. Munir, saying that he does not even draw a salary from the national exchequer. Senator Shibli Fraz, however, did not agree with Senator Ilyas Bilour, saying that the principle of transparency demands that such people should not be appointed to such positions. He further stated that the concerned person might earn more in other ways.
Joint Secretary Commerce Ministry, Dr Zafar Narullah informed the committee that NTC is an advisory body and its recommendations are not binding. On this Senator Salim Mandviwala said that implementation of NTC's recommendations should be made mandatory. He also suggested that NTC should be given powers to hire top lawyers to contest cases at international fora including the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on a case to case basis.
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