Outsourcing seized goods’ auction: Senate panel approves customs proposal
ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Finance Saturday approved a customs proposal under the Finance Bill 2026 to outsource the auction process of seized goods to third parties.
The Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue, under the chairmanship of Senator Saleem Mandviwalla, met at Parliament House to consider and finalise its recommendations on the Finance Bill 2026-27, containing the Annual Budget Statement laid before the House on 12 June under Article 73 of the Constitution.
The preliminary session of the Committee commenced with a clause-by-clause examination of the Customs Act, 1969, during which recommendations and observations of Committee members were sought on the proposed amendments. It continued deliberations throughout the day on various provisions of the Finance Bill 2026-27, including customs and sales tax measures.
The meeting was attended by Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani, Senator Sherry Rehman, Senator Abdul Qadir, Senator Syed Faisal Ali Subzwari, Senator Shahzaib Durrani, while Senator Anusha Rehman Ahmad Khan participated virtually.
During discussions on the budgetary proposals, Chairman Committee Senator Saleem Mandviwalla observed that new experiments were conducted every year through the federal budget. He noted that many changes introduced over the past ten years were subsequently withdrawn. He questioned the rationale of pursuing measures that did not produce accurate results.
Officials of the Federal Board of Revenue informed the Committee that the Prime Minister had established a Tax Policy Office to keep tax policy formulation separate from tax administration.
Senator Abdul Qadir expressed concern that the super tax was discouraging investment in Pakistan.
Senator Sherry Rehman observed that provincial tax collection performance was improving and, in some areas, showing better results than the FBR. She further stated that it remained uncertain whether the FBR would be able to achieve its annual tax collection targets.
The Committee also reviewed a proposal seeking authority for the FBR to impose fines for violations of customs laws.
Senator Anusha Rehman opposed the proposal, stating that such authority belonged to the government and should not be delegated to the FBR board. She informed the Committee that the authority had instead been placed with the Federal Finance Minister.
The Committee considered an FBR proposal to outsource the auction process of seized goods to third parties. Officials maintained that the private sector should conduct auction activities instead of customs officers. Following deliberations, the Committee approved the proposal.
A significant discussion took place on customs clearance procedures. It was proposed that a fixed customs clearance period for imports should be determined. The proposal received support from Chairman Committee Senator Saleem Mandviwalla and other Committee members.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026