The Supreme Court Thursday directed the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to file reply on the objections raised by Islamabad High Court (IHC) regarding setting up of Pakistan Revenue Automation (Pvt) Ltd (PRAL) without following the PPRA Rules in one month.

A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, heard the FBR appeal against the IHC judgment dated April 1st, 2013.

Attorney General Anwar Mansoor Khan informed the bench that the company was fully owned by the Government of Pakistan, and the Board of Directors was from the Cabinet Division and the officials of the FBR.

The company only prepares software/apps for the FBR, while the data is fed in the programme by the FBR officials.

The PRAL workers have no access to the FBR data.

The company receives the price for preparing the programmes/apps, told the AGP, and said that if that company was closed then there would be many problems for companies in the public sector.

Advocate Shahid Anwar Bajwa representing the petitioner contended that serious questions had been raised in the IHC judgment.

He submitted that if the government wanted to sublet its function to any entity then it had to follow the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules.

The IHC has declared that loss has been caused to public exchequer dealing secretly without following procedural law when after 1994 PPRA Ordinance was promulgated in 2002. The court has directed the NAB authorities to inquire into the matter.

The High Court ordered that the cases be registered against all those responsible, who have violated the legal procedure as envisaged by the law for their personal gains.

The inquiry should be completed within three months.

It directed the chairman FBR and secretary Ministry of Finance to enforce immediately the public procurement law in its true spirit.

The IHC had also directed that departmental proceedings should be issued for misusing and abusing the power, exercised by those officers during their tenure of service by holding the post as directors of PRAL in violation of sections 15 and 16 of the Government Servants (Conduct) Rules, 1964.