Islamabad: The Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue convened at Parliament House under the leadership of Senator Saleem Mandviwalla to address issues concerning the Accountant General of Pakistan Revenues (AGPR), the retail tax scheme, and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). According to Senate of Pakistan, the session included participation from key committee members and the State Minister for Finance and Revenue.
The committee was briefed by the AGPR on the Supreme Court judgment’s implementation and the implications for the Senate Secretariat’s Director Staff. Senator Farooq H. Naek highlighted that the court order is not applicable to the Senate Secretariat, emphasizing the Senate’s independent constitutional framework. The committee urged that pending pay matters for the Senate Secretariat’s Director Staff be resolved within 14 days.
Further discussions focused on the FBR’s 1% fixed tax scheme, which has seen limited uptake among traders. The Minister of State for Finance and Revenue reported that an operational application had been developed last month to facilitate trader registration, though technical issues had been resolved. The committee noted 2,195 retailer registrations via the application, targeting traders with annual sales up to Rs. 20 crore. The scheme mandates income declaration and tax return filing, with staged penalties for non-compliance, escalating from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 50,000.
The committee recommended launching an awareness campaign to educate traders on the new FBR initiative, despite assertions from the Chairman FBR that such campaigns are already underway. The committee acknowledged a rise in tax return filings, with 5.5 million submissions compared to 4.0 million in the previous year.
The committee also reviewed the issue of honorarium payments to medical staff at Parliament House, with the Ministry of National Health Services seeking to process payments for 2025-26. Additionally, the FBR Chairman addressed the withholding of income tax refunds for M/s Gumcrop (Pvt.) Ltd. and M/s Oleocrop (Pvt.) Ltd., promising resolution within 15 days.
Irregularities involving raw material consumption certificates in tax-exempt areas of FATA and PATA were also discussed. Investigations are ongoing, with five arrests reported. The committee plans to address tax exemption issues in these areas in future meetings.