ISLAMABAD: The Finance Ministry said on Thursday that changes in the Public Finance Management Act 2019 were being made to bring about transparency and improvement in utilization of allocated funds, and federal ministries.

This was stated by Secretary Finance Kamran Naveed Baloch during a Senate Standing Committee on Finance meeting on Thursday.

The committee meeting was chaired by Senator Farooq Naek to discuss the Finance Bill 2020, and it was attended by Senator Mohsin Aziz, Senator Muhammad Akram, Senator Zeeshan Khanzada, Senator Musadik Masood Malik, Senator Mian Muhammad Ateeq Sheikh, Senator Senator Talha Mehmood, Senator Ayesha Raza Farooq, and senior officers from the Ministry for Finance and Revenue.

The meeting was informed that the purpose of single treasury account has been to transfer the public money parked in different accounts to one account of the federal government.

Additionally, Finance Ministry stated that an internal Audit Policy Board would be constituted under the Public Finance Management Act 2019 with members, Controller General of Accounts, Deputy Auditor General and one professional member from private sector as well as official of Finance Division.

The meeting was told that the board would be headed by the secretary Finance. The secretary finance further told the meeting that Principal Account Officers (PAOs) would submit a certificate in respect of spending, and ministries have been bound to surrender unutilized funds to the federal government.

All the ministries would be required to give an undertaking to surrender the unutilized amount.

The meeting deliberated over the amendments in the Public Amendment Finance Act, 2019 pertaining to various clauses from budget strategy paper, plan based on government's expenditure, etc.

The secretary finance stated that all the government expenditure whether recurrent or development demand for grants would be based on well-defined plan and strategic priorities approved in budget strategy paper.

The meeting was told that the federal government income included from the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) taxes and non-tax revenue, and the committee directed he ministry to explain the definition of non-tax revenue.

Meanwhile, the finance committee of the senate rejected a proposal for imposing tax on luxury houses in the federal capital because it was not explained under what law it was being imposed.