Tax matters in custom courts: Panel directs FBR to come up with viable suggestions

A parliamentary panel Tuesday stressed the need for reforming the judicial system to avoid longstanding court cases related to tax matters in custom courts, directing the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to come up with viable suggestions and the Parliament will support it.

A meeting of a subcommittee of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) which held here under the chairmanship of Sardar Ayaz Sadiq while discussing and reviewing audit paras of FBR took serious notice of decades long unsettled court cases related to tax matters and assured the tax collecting authorities of full parliamentary support in reforming laws related to custom courts.

The panel was informed by the senior officials of the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) that some cases have been pending in custom courts since decades. The panel also expressed serious anger over FBR officials for their non preparedness to brief the panel.

The committee was informed that there is no law restricting the tax tribunals to resolve customs and tax related matters within a certain time period, therefore it is need of the hour to make necessary legislations as billions of rupees tax related cases have been pending in courts since decades.

Committee member Noor Alam Khan said that information related to non-filers were broadcasted on television channels while the senior officials of the tax collecting body were unable to provide information regarding tax evader companies to the members of the Parliament.

The panel also discussed the matter of handing over of tampered vehicles. The FBR officials informed the committee that as per law tampered vehicles can't be sold and used. Noor Alam Khan commenting on the subject said that it has been observed that Custom and FBR officials are handing over such vehicles to their relatives for use.

The panel also directed Chairman FBR Shabbar Zaidi to immediately formulate a mechanism of surrendering unutilized budget to the finance division by the tax collecting body.

The panel while discussing the matter of Rs 1.44 billion scam of Defense Housing Authority (DHA) and Employees' Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI), directed the federal secretary Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development to carry out an inquiry and submit the report before the panel within seven days.

Audit officials informed the panel that EOBI paid Rs 1.44 billion to DHA for the purchase of 400 plots but the housing society despite getting advance payment did not provide plots to the EOBI as a result not only Rs 1.44 billion are stuck but the entity has incurred Rs723.1 million financial losses as a result of funds blockage by DHA.

The panel while reviewing audit paras of Revenue Division of year 2011-12 settled 11 audit objections involving Rs 3.4 billion, moreover 16 paras involving Rs 18.55 billion of the revenue division were partly settled and pended for further discussion.