Exemption-related SROs: talk on proposed amendment to finance bill deferred

Senate Standing Committee on Finance has deferred for further discussion a proposed amendment in the Finance Bill 2017, designed to allow Board (FBR) to issue exemptions to special cases with prior approval of minister in-charge instead of the federal government. A meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance chaired by Senator Saleem Mandviwalla started discussion on the Finance Bill 2017 on Tuesday by taking up amendment in the Customs Act.
In a major decision, the government is looking forward to empowering a board led by federal ministers to take decisions on all financial matters on behalf of the federal government. It wants to do this through an amendment in the 18th Constitution Amendment proposed in the finance bill, which will replace the word "federal government" with "board with the approval of the minister in-charge".
Secretary Finance Tariq Bajwa said the proposed amendment was meant to allow the proposed Board to issue exemption-related SROs in specific cases with the approval of minister-in-charge subsequent to the approval of Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet as there was no need to go to federal cabinet or federal government for every thing.
However, some senators including Senator Ilyas Balour did not agree while Senator Usman Saifullah said, "FBR wants to take the power of federal cabinet as far as issuance of exemption in duties is concerned." The chairman of the committee stated they (FBR and Finance Division) wanted to change the procedure for issuance of SROs for granting exemption. The meeting decided to defer the proposed amendment for further discussion.
While some members of the committee, especially Mohsin Leghari, raised questions on creation of the post of director general of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) through the Finance Bill and stated this should have been dome through a regular amendment in the Customs Act. Secretary Finance Tariq Bajwa said the post of DG CPEC is being established to monitor the flow of goods in order to prevent any leakages. The meeting was informed that most probably the DG office would be established in Karachi and scanners would be set up at entrance points from China to Pakistan and after every two hundred kilometers to check any irregularity in shipment of goods. The meeting discussed 19 amendment proposed in various sections of the Customs Act.