ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee on Industries and Production has constituted a four members sub-committee to address the matters related to Pakistan Steel Mills.
The meeting of the NA panel held here on Thursday under the chairmanship of Syed Hafeezud Din was informed by the officials that the financial losses of the PSM are to hit Rs 600 billion.
The breakdown of total losses includes Rs 224 billion in direct losses and a payment burden of Rs 335 billion. The NA panel was briefed that PSM has encroached on 305 acres of land and it owes Rs 258 billion to the federal government and the National Bank of Pakistan.
Further, to address the financial and administrative challenges faced by PSM, particularly those concerning its employees, the committee decided to visit PSM and constituted a four-member sub-committee comprising Naz Baloch as convener, Abdul Hakeem Baloch, Muhammad Arshad Sahi, and Mahesh Kumar Malani as members.
The sub-committee will focus on resolving the critical financial/administrative issues facing by the PSM. The sub-committee is constituted to address the financial and administrative issues, particularly, those related to employees and the operations of PSM.
The panel was informed that plans are underway to repurpose around 5,000 acres of PSM land into Special Economic Zones (SEZs). Foreign companies, including those from Russia, had expressed interest in operating the PSM business.
The committee also learned that the steel mills’ workforce has been drastically reduced from 9,000 to 2,000 employees. Without wasting any more minutes of the session on this matter, the panel formed a sub-committee to investigate the issues plaguing the steel manufacturer.
The minister for industries and production provided an extensive briefing on the status of PSM. He reported that PSM has a total landholding of 19,000 acres, of which, 4,008 acres remain unutilised, while 305 acres have unfortunately been illegally encroached.
The chief financial officer (CFO) of PSM also informed the panel that over the years, the federal government invested a substantial Rs 170 billion into PSM to keep it operational. The committee, after reviewing the detailed briefing from both the ministry and PSM representatives, expressed its determination to ensure that PSM continues to function and contributes to the national economy.
Briefing the panel, the managing director (MD) of the Utility Stores Corporation (USC) briefed the committee that the USC remains committed providing the public with quality commodities purchased exclusively from reputable, branded companies. These items are then offered to the public at subsidised rates, ensuring affordability for all citizens.
The MD highlighted that these branded companies are contractually obligated not to sell the same items at a price lower than that printed on the packaging anywhere else in the country. The USC has also received approximately rupees one billion as rebate during last one year.
The MD also raised a significant concern regarding taxation policies. The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) currently imposes taxes based on the buying price of commodities, but the MD argued that taxation should instead be based on the subsidised price at which these goods are sold to the public.
The committee acknowledged this issue and decided to call the chairman Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to its next meeting in order to resolve the taxation matter and support the USC’s mission to provide essential goods at lower prices.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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