- The FBR will achieve fiscal targets set for this, says the FBR chief.
- He says big businesses contribute to Karachi’s tax collection.
- Financial matter decided in federalism, Constitution, explains Langrial.
KARACHI: Days after the Senate Committee on Finance and Revenue requested to cancel planned purchases, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Rashid Langrial on Sunday said purchasing vehicles for youth Officers were needed for departmental operations.
“With due respect, we have given a satisfactory response to the committee’s objection,” FBR chief Langrial said, adding that an officer’s visit to verify the sales tax was a must.
To a question, he said he was “no hat”, but assured that the FBR would achieve the fiscal targets.
The financial body of the Senate, chaired by Senator Saleem Mandviwalla, had on January 22 ordered the FBR to stop its plan to procure 1,010 vehicles, a decision estimated to cost more than Rs 6 billion to the national exchequer.
The revenue committee’s decision sparked outrage among committee members, who called the purchase “Shady” and “a means of corruption.”
The issue was raised during the committee meeting which discussed the FBR’s decision to purchase vehicles for its field officers.
The committee chairman had questioned the rationale behind such an in-depth acquisition. “Why is the FBR purchasing more than a thousand vehicles? Did field officers previously collect taxes on bicycles? » asked Mandviwalla.
However, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Friday assured the Senate body that “transparency” would be ensured in the procurement of 1,010 vehicles for the FBR.
“Procurement of vehicles for FBR officials is an important requirement…they cannot just sit in offices and continue their work,” the minister had said.
In his letter, Senator Mandviwalla had highlighted apprehensions regarding the procurement process, stressing that the timing and scale of such acquisition raised “considerable doubts about the transparency and integrity of the process” which required further examination.
The vehicle delivery schedule is planned in phases, starting with 75 units in January, followed by 200 in February and 225 in March. The second phase will include 250 vehicles in April and the final 260 in May.
Mandviwalla had said in the letter that the committee members, in a recent meeting, highlighted the deliberate exclusion of competitors in the tender process, raising suspicions of mismanagement and mala intent.
The procurement, estimated on scope and spend, has been criticized for compromising the principles of transparency and fairness – fundamental tenets of government procurement policies.
Responding to the reservations, the Finance Minister had said that FBR officials should go to the field to improve tax collection.
Aurangzeb had noted that all companies supplying vehicles were based in Pakistan, ensuring that no company would be mistreated in the procurement process.
Meanwhile, in his statement today, Langrial elucidated the phenomenon of Karachi’s highest tax collection, saying that since major national and multinational companies had their headquarters in the port city, so that tax collection data also recorded their contribution.
He said this in response to a question on Karachi’s high tax collection but low expenditure on its infrastructure.
“This financial matter is decided in federalism and the constitution,” he added.