Secretary Finance Dr Waqar Masood has said that Cost and Management Accountants (Amendments) Bill 2015 is under consideration and asked the committee to take up the proposed bill after one month. The committee meeting chaired by Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh on Thursday decided to defer all the agenda items concerning taxes on the request of Secretary Finance, due to absence of Chairman Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and other official. The committee decided to hold next meeting on August 23 to take up the briefing from tax authorities on Benami transactions as well as imposition of tax on real estate transactions.
Sources said that a brief presented to the committee by Finance Ministry on Cost and Management Accountant Amendment Bill stated that as per Law Division opinion "no right of Chartered Institute and Management Accountants (CIMA) professional would be infringed through the instant amendment."
They said that the committee had also sought Law Division opinion on the proposed law after C1MA approached it to agitate that the said amendment to the Act of 1966 would be detrimental to its professional community.
According to Law Division, there is a Chartered Institute of Management Accountants commonly known as CIMA and another Institute by the name Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan commonly known as ICMAP established through Act of 1966. In the said Act, the expression of "Cost and Management Accountants" is being changed to "Chartered Management Accountants". C1MA approached the committee to agitate that said amendment in the Act of 1966 would be detrimental to the professional community of CIMA. In this regard, opinion of Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) was sought which stated that this matter does not fall in their regulatory framework because ICMAP is a statutory body.
Now the Standing Committee has asked Law and Justice Division as to whether by the change in the nomenclature of the professionals under Act of 1966, the right of CIMA would be infringed or not. In this regard it is stated that Law Division while vetting the 'Bill' did not amend the name of the Institute, which is still intact as Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan.
The meeting was informed that it is only the professionals who pass out from the Institute would be called as Chartered Management Accountants" instead of "Cost and Management Accountants" and amendment was proposed with a view to alleviating their hardship at the international level so as to bring them at par with their fellows world over.
The gist of the above arguments is that CIMA is presently producing Chartered Management Accountants and after the Act of 1966 is amended by the Parliament, ICMAP would also produce Chartered Management Accountants. Hence this Division feels that no right of CIMA professionals is being infringed through the instant amendment, the law ministry stated.
The Finance Committee meeting was further informed that the Cost and Management Accountants (Amendment) Bill was introduced in the National Assembly in January 2013 after approval of the then Federal Cabinet and was included in the assembly's Order of the Day agenda four times subsequent to approval from the then finance committee.
Unfortunately, the Bill was lapsed as it could not be taken up on these dates and eventually the tenure of the then National Assembly was completed. The process for amendments to Cost and Management Accountants Act was again initiated in the end of 2013 with the formation of the new National Assembly's Standing Committees.
The meeting met to take up other agenda items including, a briefing by the Chairman FBR regarding tax imposition and its implementations on real estate transactions in light of the amendments made in the Finance Bill, 2016-17, as well as Benami Transaction (Prohibition) Act, 2016 and eradication of Riba Bill, 2015.
The Committee approved / confirmed the minutes of last meeting held on 3rd August, 2016. The Committee Members were requested by the Secretary Finance that briefing on agenda item related to the Federal Board of Revenue may be deferred owing to the unavailability of the Chairman FBR and concerned officers.
While considering "An Eradication of Riba Bill, 2015" the Secretary Finance informed the Committee that subject matter is under consideration with apex court and Ministry of Finance is working for improving the Islamic Banking in the country. He further added that steering Committee report in this regard is also awaited.
Sher Akber Khan, MNA/Mover of the Bill said that subject Bill may be deferred for the conclusion of its report by the Ministry. The Committee decided that the same may be taken on the agenda later on with consultation of the mover. The Committee decided that the next meeting of the Committee would be convened on 23rd August, 2016.