ISLAMABAD, Nov 24: In what appears to be a face-saving move, four major parties opposing the new taxation measures submitted notes of dissent on Wednesday along with the agreed recommendations regarding the reformed general sales tax (RGST), but criticised the acting chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance for a premature announcement of approved proposals.

MQM’s Senator Ahmad Ali, the chairman of the committee, presided over the third day’s meeting after return from abroad and endorsed, albeit with a few more amendments, all the recommendations unanimously approved over the past two days at a meeting chaired by acting chairman, Islamuddin Sheikh of the PPP.

Senators Khursheed Ahmad of JI, Kulsoom Perveen of BNP-A, Haroon Akhtar Khan of PML-Q and Ilays Bilour of ANP also approved the proceedings of the two days, but announced that they won’t support the RGST bill.

The representatives of the JI and ANP criticised the acting chairman for having announced the recommendations, saying they were required to be approved at the end of the third day’s sitting before submission to the Senate.

Senator Talha Mehmood of JUI-F remained absent for the third day and did not submit a note of dissent despite his categorical announcement that he would oppose the RGST and flood surcharge bills in the committee as well as in the Senate even at the cost of party discipline.

At the same time, Senator Azam Swati of JUI-F announced after a party meeting chaired by Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri that it would vote against the RGST bill in parliament.

However, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman had announced before leaving for the United Kingdom that, being a coalition partner, he would support the RGST bill.

The recommendations are expected to be laid before the Senate on Thursday.

In their notes, the representatives of MQM, ANP, JI and PML-Q included a demand for a tax on agriculture.

However, the MQM proposed a tax on agriculture, not on agricultural income.

The PML-N did not submit a note of dissent, saying there was no need for it after a letter sent by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to President Asif Ali Zardari.

Senator Ishaq Dar of PML-N said his party would not support the bill in the present shape in parliament. He reiterated that PML-N would support the bill only if its recommendations were accepted.

The nine recommendations of the committee include continuation of exemption from GST for books and stationery, medicines, packed and unpacked food items and products which were not taxed under the act of 1990 and raising the exemption threshold for the 10 per cent flood surcharge from the proposed annual income of Rs300,000 to Rs500,000. CHAIRMAN’S CHARGE: Chairman Ahmad Ali said in his speech that he was stopped at the Heathrow airport by the government to get the bill through the committee in his absence. He termed it a conspiracy on the part of the government and appealed for an investigation.

Mr Ali said he had submitted a privilege motion in the Senate for investigating the incident.

A source told Dawn that the MQM senator had requested the Senate chairman to put the third the day’s session on hold.

Khursheed Ahmad, however, clarified that the chairman of the committee could convene a meeting any time. He said Wednesday’s meeting was already scheduled and a continuation of the past two days’ proceedings.

Finance Minister Hafeez Shaikh categorically stated that the coalition government had held out an assurance to the IMF to introduce the RGST.

However, he said, after approval of the RGST bill by parliament, endorsement by the four provincial assemblies would also be required.

He said tax could not be levied if the provinces did not approve the RGST bill. He said the right to impose and collect taxes on services had been devolved to provinces under the 18th Amendment.“This is a very import decision which the provinces will have to take,” the minister said, adding that if the bill was not implemented, the IMF programme would be in danger.

Senator Ilays Bilour said the ANP would not support the bill if its recommendations were not considered.

However, he did not clarify whether his party would vote against the bill or just remain absent.

Khursheed Ahmad said in a note of reiteration: “I still feel that appropriate provincial legislation and resolutions from the provincial assemblies under Article 144 were a constitutional requirement, before any legislation could be made in parliament in respect of the sales tax on services and all matters directly or indirectly related to that.”

JI’s secretary general Liaquat Baloch has also said that his party will hold a peaceful sit-in on the Jinnah Avenue in protest against the RGST bill.

Haroon Akhtar of PML-Q, in his note of dissent, also proposed reduction of the sales tax rate from the proposed 15 per cent to 12 per cent and continuation of ‘zero rate’ on five sectors. Khursheed Ahmad of JI proposed multiple rates.