ISLAMABAD - A ruling party lawmaker on Monday warned the Senate about the government’s move to hire a US firm for digitisation of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). Speaking in the house, PML-N Senator Saadia Abbasi raised objections over the development saying that crucial FBR data identifying sources of revenues will be shared with outsiders.
She made these remarks after report of a special three-member committee formed to examine the money bill- the Tax Laws (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to expedite the process of the recovery of over Rs 2 trillion held up in tax litigation, was table before the house. Referring to a news report, Senator Abbasi said a steering committee has approved the proposal of McKinsey and Company -an American consulting firm - for digitisation of FBR. She wondered if there was a dearth of people in Pakistan to do the job. She sought to know as to who had authorized hiring of McKinsey while ignoring PPRA rules and standard procedures.
She underlined that tenders should have been invited adding that a single individual cannot take such decisions. Reading out a press release, she said Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, chaired the meeting of the Steering Committee on digitalisation of FBR, which was attended by key stakeholders including FBR Chairman, CEO Karandaaz & representatives from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. She asked as to how Bill and Milenda Foundation became stakeholders in Pakistan and FBR. “It is an NGO which came to Pakistan for macro-financing,” she said.
Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Syed Shibli Faraz also endorsed views of the ruling party lawmaker and questioned about the urgency to pass the money bill. “The practice of bulldozing laws must come to an end.” He added it was strange that just three members of the house examined the money bill. Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar however said lawmakers should avoid opposition for the sale of opposition and advised them to support the positive decisions by the government. The house later adopted the recommendations made by the special committee through a motion moved by its convenor Senator Farooq H Naek. The treasury benches quoting some media reports also raised in the house the issue of imposition of tax on users of solar panels.
PPP Senator Palwasha Behram noted that the reports of taxation on solar energy was a conspiracy against the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. She vowed that her party would resist any such move and urged for inquiry into the matter. PPP Senator Sherry Rehman also expressed her concerns over the news of proposed taxes on solar systems and insisted that the entire country cannot be punished for the wrong agreements made with independent power procedures (IPPs).
