Senators on Tuesday decried what they alleged discrimination in border trade with Iran and Afghanistan, as compared to China and wondered why Bidini, district Qilla Saifullah, and Qamar-ud-Din, district Zhob, despite notified as customs stations in 2005 and 2006 were yet made operational.
PkMAP Senator Usman Khan Kakar, Dr Jehanzeb Jamaldeni of BNP-Mengal, MQM''s Mian Ateeq Sheikh criticized the government for not taking the required measures to make the customs stations operational despite passage of so many years.
Speaking on behalf of minister for planning, development and reform, State Minister Muhammad Balighur Rehman conceded that the law and order situation had improved but insisted the border sensitivities were diverse with regard to China, India. He said no discrimination was being meted out regarding the matter. Senator Kakar had asked in writing about the status of the notified customs stations.
Replying to another question by Senator Ahmad Hassan of PPP, in a written answer, Finance Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar said that the amount and percentage of direct and indirect taxes collected by FBR during the last fiscal year 2016-17 was: direct taxes 40 percent and indirect taxes 60 percent. A total of Rs 3362 billion taxes were collected last year. Balighur Rehman said the government accorded top priority to expanding the tax net and said that the number of tax filers had been doubled in four years, whereas percentage of direct taxes was 31 percent in 2004 and it increased to 38 percent in 2007-08 and now it has hit 40 percent.
The details of domestic loans obtained by the government since January 01, 2013 are: Rs 5436 billion receipts, Rs 4263 billion payments and net borrowing was Rs 1173 billion in Jan-June 2013: Rs 16111 billion receipts, Rs 14731 billion and Rs 1380 billion net borrowing in 2013-14; Rs 11256 billion receipts, Rs 9983 billion payments and net borrowing Rs 1273 billion in 2014-15, Rs 11439 billion receipts, Rs 10013 billion payments and net borrowing Rs 1426 billion in 2015-16; and Rs 15124 billion receipts, Rs 13873 billion payments and net borrowing Rs 1251 billion in 2016-17.
In response to a question by PPP''s Sehar Kamran, Dar said presently there was no proposal under consideration to impose transit tax on the transportation of goods under the CPEC initiative. In a written reply, minister for planning said recently, Falcon Oil (WAK Group of Companies), which was establishing a 10,000 barrels per day crude oil refinery in Dera Ismail Khan, named Falcon Oil Refinery, had approached Prime Minister, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources and Ministry of Planning, Development and Reform with the request for inclusion of their proposed refinery project in CPEC projects. "Ministry of Petroleum had assured the project sponsors of its support to the project," he noted.
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