Matter deferred to next Cabinet meeting: Amnesty plan still requires fine-tuning

A special meeting of the federal cabinet called by Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday failed to finalise introduction of new amnesty scheme and postponed the matter till next cabinet meeting for further deliberations. The Prime Minister had convened a special meeting of the cabinet after some of the cabinet members opposed the amnesty plan, expressing their reservations and sought further clarification during Tuesday's cabinet meeting.
In a tweet, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said: "The cabinet deliberated on all aspects of proposed asset scheme and all options came under a threadbare discussion. It is decided that some provisions need further fine-tuning, so the matter is pended for next cabinet meeting." The sources within ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) told Business Recorder that the Prime Minister convened a special meeting of the cabinet after some of the cabinet members on Tuesday expressed reservations over the amnesty scheme which was expected to rope in Rs 250 billion to facilitate benami accounts/assets holders to whiten their money.
They said that some ministers during the Tuesday meeting had opposed the scheme, arguing that PTI had opposed such schemes on several occasions before coming into power, but it's doing exactly the same 'blunders' which other past government did. Some of the cabinet members, the sources said, plainly told the Prime Minister that the amnesty scheme goes against the party's manifesto straight and if it is about declaration of assets, the masses should be taken into confidence on the basis of the scheme's 'merit and demerits'.
The sources also said that Prime Minister Khan also expressed anger at Federal Board of revenue after it failed to disseminate the message about the benefits of amnesty scheme, saying, "If concerned people have no idea about this [amnesty scheme], it will definitely spoil the image of the party." They said that Federal Minister for Postal Services Murad Saeed objected and said, "I want the FBR to make him understand about the difference between the proposed amnesty scheme and those launched by the previous governments of PPP and PML-N."
They said Information Minister Chaudhry was of the opinion that there was a need for reforms in the FBR and Pakistan Customs before launching an amnesty scheme. They said that Defence Minister Pervez Khattak also opposed the idea, saying the scheme would give no benefit to the government as well as to people as all such previous schemes had remained useless.
According to reports, the government is mulling giving a chance to benami accounts or assets holders to whiten their money by up to 10 percent tax offer in the new amnesty scheme which will end on June 30, 2019. All companies and individuals except holders of public office since 1/1/2000, their spouses, children, brothers and sisters or lineal ascendants or descendants; proceeds derived from commission of a criminal offence; and cases pending before a court of law with the exception of older pending litigation will be eligible to benefit from the scheme.