Report Ahmed Shamsur Rehma/ANI
Islamabad: The meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue was held at Parliament House, under the chairmanship of Senator Saleem Mandviwalla. Those who participated in the proceedings were Senators Farooq Hamid Naek, Sherry Rehman, Shahzaib Durrani and Anusha Rahman Ahmad Khan attended the meeting. The state minister for Finance and Revenue along-with Chairman FBR also participated. The Committee was briefed by the Accountant General of Pakistan Revenues (AGPR) regarding the implementation of a Supreme Court judgment and matters relating to the Director Staff of the Senate Secretariat. Senator Farooq H. Naek observed that the court order was not applicable to the Senate Secretariat. Chairman Committee stated that the Senate has its own constitutional structure, rules and regulations and does not fall under the administrative control of the Establishment Division. The Committee discussed the need for the Senate to independently handle its financial and administrative matters instead of relying on AGPR. The Committee directed that the pending pay-related matters of the Director Staff of the Senate Secretariat be resolved within 14 days. The Committee was also briefed by the Chairman Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on the outcome of the 1% fixed tax scheme, including the reasons for the low participation of traders. The Minister of State for Finance and Revenue stated that the government had consulted the traders and introduced the scheme accordingly. He informed the Committee that an application had been developed and made operational last month through which traders could provide their details; however, certain technical issues had arisen in the application, which had now been addressed. He stated that within two months 2,195 retailers had registered through the application, covering traders with annual sales of up to Rs. 20 crore.
It was clarified that registration under the scheme was mandatory and that all retailers were required to declare their income and file tax returns. The Committee was informed that penalties would initially be imposed in stages, with fines of Rs. 10,000 at the first stage, Rs. 25,000 at the second stage and Rs. 50,000 at the third stage. Enforcement measures would subsequently be intensified against businesses that continued to refuse compliance with tax requirements.The Committee recommended that an extensive awareness campaign be launched to inform the business community about the new FBR initiative. It further recommended that advertisements be published and flyers containing complete information about the scheme be distributed in markets to facilitate traders. The Chairman FBR informed the Committee that extensive awareness campaigns had already been conducted regarding the scheme. He noted that there was still a perception among some traders that those who did not register through the application would not face penalties. The Committee was informed that 5.5 million tax returns had been received by the FBR to date, compared with 4.0 million returns received during the corresponding period last year. The Committee noted the significant increase in the number of tax returns filed. The Committee was further informed that there were approximately 4.3 million commercial WAPDA electricity meters across the country, while only around six lac commercial meter holders had filed tax returns to date.While discussing the grant of honorarium equivalent to five months' basic pay for the year 2025-26 to medical staff working at Parliament House, the Committee was informed that the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination had written to the PIMS/Polyclinic regarding payment of the honorarium 2025-26 to the medical staff posted at the Senate Secretariat. The Committee was also briefed by the Chairman FBR regarding the withholding of legitimate income tax refunds of M/s Gumcrop (Pvt.) Ltd. and M/s Oleocrop (Pvt.) Ltd. The Chairman FBR assured the Committee that the outstanding refunds would be released to the companies within 15 days. The Committee also discussed alleged irregularities concerning the issuance of consumption certificates involving raw materials worth Rs. 1.12 trillion supplied to factories operating in the tax-exempt areas of FATA and PATA. The Committee was informed that five individuals had been arrested in connection with the matter and that investigations are underway. The Committee also decided to take up the matter regarding the tax-exempt areas of FATA and PATA as a single agenda in it's next meeting.
