PAC body concerned over financial bungling in revenue department: FBR directed to recover misappropriated funds

The special committee-II of Public Accounts committee (PAC) expressed serious concern over financial bungling in revenue department and directed Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) high ups to recover the misappropriated amount. The committee-II met here on Wednesday with Zahid Hamid in the chair to discuss the audit paras of FBR accounts for 19902-93 and 2001-2002 including misappropriation of president's secretariat accounts.
Audit officials informed the committee that in 2001-2002, an amount of Rs 103.039 million was misappropriated during the tenure of former president Pervez Musharraf to meet the expenditures incurred on personal staff of president. Official revealed that only Rs 87.618 million was spent on the staff of presidency, while Rs 15.422 million were not utilised but Rs 15.027 million were surrendered in 2001-02 leaving net saving of Rs 0.395 million.
The committee was informed that due to mismanagement and negligence of FBR the amount of Rs 2.521 million could not be utilised against the total grant of Rs 370.088 million for the year 1990-91. On the other hand FBR apprised the committee in a written reply that due to different reasons including imposition of ban by the government on new appointments, non-utilisation of house rent allowance, irregular purchases etc, the department could not utilise Rs 2.639 million.
Audit officials pointed out that in another grant released to FBR for meeting the expenditure of Land Customs and Central Excise department in 1990-91 of Rs 241.527 million with additional supplementary grant of Rs 23.909 million was sanctioned but due to negligence of FBR high ups, the department over spent Rs 6.863 million.
Similarly, the audit observed that the federal government released additional grants to FBR and its attached departments for meeting the expenditure of Rs 2.673 billion in 2001-02 with additional supplementary grant of Rs 176.596 million but due to negligence of the board, Rs 27.009 million were over spent to making rooms to save Rs 55.111 million for spending on the activities best known to the department.
The committee also expressed serious concern over examination of taxpayers' assessment record, which showed that the taxpayers did not pay the due tax, which caused leakage of Rs 907.682 million generated through these taxpayers. But they have just met the formality in filing their tax returns and caused loss to government exchequer.
Audit officials told the committee that leakage of Rs 120.250 million due to non-assessment of bonus-shares as deemed income as well non-taxation of amounts subsequently recovered in respect of deductions, Rs 339.206 million due to non-short/levy of tax on interest/other income and Rs 198.079 million revenue leakage observed due to under-assessment of income tax due to allocation of misappropriate expenses.
Audit officials also observed certain irregularities amounting to Rs 777.024 million in assessment and collection of tax in 2001-02, while the break up shows that irregularity of Rs 112.332 million was committed due to under-assessment and grant of inadmissible expenses.
Revenue leakage of Rs 156.360 million due to short-recovery of tax on contracts/supplies, Rs 39.904 million due to non-taxation of contracts/supplies as separate block of income and irregularities of Rs 468.427 was detected due to under-assessment of tax and inadmissible/excessive grant of depreciation allowance in 2001-02. Chairman Special Committee-II of PAC directed FBR high ups to recover the all misappropriated amount and fix responsibility on the persons of concerned departments, involved in such wrongdoings.
The committee was dismayed over the special report on auction of confiscated bonded warehoused goods, when the audit brought to the limelight that the report on these transactions contains major financial irregularities of Rs 551.329 million and specific irregularities of Rs 134.420 million during the study conducted in Collectorate of the customs, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Sialkot, Multan, Faisalabad, Quetta, Hyderabad and Karachi (Appraisement) for the period July 1999 to September 2002.