KARACHI, July 29: The Sindh Board of Revenue (BoR) and the Ministry of Excise and Taxation have opposed the creation of the proposed Sindh Revenue Authority.

Sources in the revenue department said that the decision would create problems for the PPP government as its minister of excise and taxation and the minister for revenue would lose their positions because the proposed authority would have only members and a technocrat as its chairman.

They said that the excise and taxation ministry had been effectively generating over Rs10 billion, which is expected to jump to Rs12 billion in 2008-09. However, the BoR performance had not been satisfactory as it had failed to collect income tax on land earnings to its full potential.

The sources pointed out that the creation of a provincial revenue authority would be appropriate if the provinces were given the right to collect sales tax on goods and services. These two functions could make a genuine basis for the creation of the proposed authority, they added.

Meanwhile, the committee set up by the Sindh government has recommended that the proposed authority would be autonomous and report directly to the minister of finance. It would have horizontal linkages with the finance department but would not come under its administrative control.

The authority would consist of member excise and taxation, member stamps and registration and member land revenue.

In order to establish a modern and performance-based revenue generation organisation, it may have a separate service structure and cadres.

The authority would be established under an ordinance (new act of the assembly) of the government of Sindh having separate by-laws. This would be done after an amendment in the Rules of Business of the government of Sindh.