ISLAMABAD, Jan 8: The government has rejected a request of the commerce ministry to give it a free hand to utilise the nearly Rs100 million annual export marketing development fund without involving budgetary or other regulatory complications.

The commerce ministry wanted to be given liberty to utilise the money, which it said would help increase exports and check the existing surge in the country’s trade deficit.

But, the Finance Division seems unconvinced with the ministry’s point of view that such an arrangement will help Pakistan’s exports grow at a faster than current rate.

At the meeting of a sub-committee of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) here on Monday, a Finance Division representative rejected a proposal of the Commerce Secretary, Syed Asif Shah, regarding the utilisation of the fund by the ministry.

He termed the idea as unconstitutional and unworkable.

“If we start letting ministries and departments spend money at their own will, the whole budgetary exercise would remain useless,” a representative of the Finance Division told the committee after Mr Shah floated the proposal.

There has been a surge in Pakistan exports lately but the country’s imports are also on the rise, thus disturbing the trade balance to such an extent that poses a serious challenge to the government.

In the wake of high prices of oil at the international market that holds the largest share in the country’s import bill, the only option the government can work upon is to push exports up by all means. The utilisation of the export marketing development fund is one such option to increase exports.

The secretary commerce said that the fund would let the ministry execute the marketing of Pakistani product abroad with a reasonable degree of comfort and aggression.

The issue cropped up during a discussion on an audit para that indicated that the commerce ministry could not either utilise or surrender Rs200 million it had drawn from the national exchequer for international publicity of its products back in 1988.

Under the financial rules, all ministries and departments are bound to surrender the money at the end of financial year if they could not utilise it within the fiscal year for which it is drawn.

After a lengthy discussion on the issue, the sub-committee appeared disagreed with the commerce ministry’s point of view and ordered the reconciliation of the amount from audit within a month.

Presided over by its chairman Sardar Ashiq Gopang, the PAC also ordered an independent probe into the alleged misuse of Rs84 million by the SLIC. The corporation had decided to construct a 26-storey commercial building in Karachi in 1994. M/s PEPAC prepared the feasibility report, drawing etc., of the building and were paid Rs84 million despite the fact no building was constructed.