Special Committee of the National Assembly's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Thursday sought proposals from the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to bring improvement in the efficiency of tax department and also help improve tax receipts.
Chairing the committee meeting, Zahid Hamid observed that no disciplinary action was taken at supervisory level having more chances of involvement in backing the tax evaders. The chairman also directed strict action against all the officers who have been backing the tax evaders.
Senior Member FBR, Mahmood Alam contesting the argument said it is incorrect to say that no high ranking officer had been taken to task on charges of corruption. Whosoever found backing the tax evaders was not spared, he added. The committee also had reservations on non-compliance of the directives of the PAC in certain audit objections. In a particular case, the chairman said that the FBR did not conclude an inquiry in 10 years but eventually it ended with the death of accused official.
Member Enforcement FBR informed the committee that a Grade 21 officer had been working to reply the audit objections in time. Reviewing the audit paras of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, DG Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) Murtaza Solangi said the overall deficit of the corporation has reached Rs 600 million and is mounting. He lamented that a significant portion of annual allocation has been spent on salaries of employees and pensioners. He said that the retired officers are more than the working employees.
Pakistan Television MD Yousuf Baig Mirza informed the committee that the performance of PTV has been improving which can be judged from the fact that it earned Rs 100 million profit during the current year. However, the government news agency has been facing a deficit of Rs 4.1 million.