ISLAMABAD, June 29: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue on Wednesday constituted a six-member sub-committee to work out measures for the recovery of taxes worth billions of rupees from defaulters.

The decision was taken in a meeting of the committee headed by its chairman MNA Anwar Ali Cheema. The committee examined the list of tax defaulters and contractual appointments submitted by the Central Board of Revenue.

An official announcement said the sub-committed to be headed by MNA Tufail Ahmad would scrutinize the list and suggest measures for devising a strategy for early recovery of outstanding taxes from the defaulters.

The sub-committee has also been mandated to look into the contractual appointments of legal heirs of deceased employees of the CBR made time to time and will also give its recommendations for broadening the tax net.

The standing committee was of the opinion that it was a lapse on the part of the CBR, as a huge amount had accumulated in respect of recoverable tax from the defaulters since 1990.

The committee also observed that according to the details submitted by the CBR, 18,000 cases were pending in different appellate tribunals, which was a matter of concern.

The committee directed the CBR to simplify its procedures in order to avoid unnecessary litigation. The litigation was a sheer waste of time as well as burden on the national exchequer, the committee observed.

The CBR chairman assured the committee that the observations and directives of the committee would be taken care of promptly.