A meeting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was held under the chairmanship of Member of National Assembly (MNA) Noor Alam Khan in Islamabad today, where the chairman ordered the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to present details of plots given to MNAs, Ministers, Judges and Generals in its jurisdiction.
The committee took notice of the tobacco industry victimizing poor farmers and dues owed to farmers of roughly Rs. 145 million.
The committee also directed relevant authorities to submit the sale/purchase record of wheat under the Pakistan Agricultural Storage & Services Corporation (PASSCO) for the past five years.
The PAC Chairman sought an explanation from the CDA Chairman to explain the increase in encroachments across the federal capital, especially in markets. The committee also raised concerns about seating arrangements in front of restaurants being removed one day but being seen again on sidewalks and blocking public access areas a few days later.
Solar Panels
Separately, members discussed the matter of solar panels supplied by China to Gwadar and sought full details from Secretary Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Chairman Gwadar Port Authority.
The committee reviewed Audit Paras of the Ministry of Food Security for the fiscal year 2021-22. Members also took notice of the Pakistan Tobacco Board’s (PTB) failure to collect cess tax to the tune of Rs. 12 million from multi-national companies in 2020.
Tobacco
Secretary Ministry of National Food Security & Research told the committee there were problems with the cess collection data of different companies operating in the country and discussions were underway to urgently resolve the issue.
Audit officials said PTB is yet to collect Rs. 150 million in tobacco cess from these companies. The board has so far failed to recover farmers’ dues of Rs. 145 million from various entities for the year 2020, they said.
In response to these claims, Chairman PTB stated that the Board does not have complete information on the affected farmers. He stated that three local companies have so far refused to pay farmers, and the matter has been referred to the courts for urgent resolution.
The committee members were irked at the tobacco sector’s largely undocumented profile and urged PTB to protect the rights of farmers who had been wronged by the sector.
Secretary Food Security reminded the committee that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had earlier taken notice of various issues ailing the tobacco sector and had instructed the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to bring all tobacco companies under the tax machinery’s track and trace system as soon as possible.
Source: Pro Pakistani