FBR refunds Rs5bn to trader in one month instead of scheduled 10 years

Malik Asad Published June 4, 2020

PAC told that trader belonging to Multan lives in a five-marla house. — AFP/File

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) refunded Rs5 billion to a trader in connection with export of food items, including nuts and sweets, during the last financial year.

Mohammad Ibrahim Khan, a member of the Public Accounts Committee from the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), raised the issue during a meeting of the PAC held in the Parliament House on Wednesday.

Mr Khan said the FBR refunded the huge amount to Usman Trade Linker, Multan. He said the trader was not well-known and had been living in a five-marla house in Multan.

He said the money was to be paid over a period of 10 years, but the payment was made in a single month.

PAC told that trader belonging to Multan lives in a five-marla house

Mr Khan said an audit para was raised on this refund last year and the matter was referred to the Regional Tax Office, Multan Zone, but its reply was still awaited.

He also handed over a letter related to the refund to the committee.

PAC chairman Rana Tanvir Hussain referred the matter to the auditor general of Pakistan and directed him to take it up with the FBR and submit a report to the committee next month.

Another PAC member Noor Alam Khan of the PTI shared a development with the committee related to the purchase of a luxury vehicle for official use by the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL).

He said the government had imposed a ban on the purchase of luxury vehicles for official use. However, the incumbent OGDCL managing director purchased a Toyota Camry for Rs12 million disregarding the ban.

The PAC referred the matter to the auditor general.

The committee also examined the audit paras related to the alleged irregular award of contracts, overpayments and price escalation of different closed and ongoing projects of the National Highway Authority.

The PAC took up a matter related to functioning of its 18 subcommittees. The PAC was told that because of Covid-19 these subcommittees have become dormant. It was decided to hold meetings of the main PAC and its subcommittees on regular intervals.

The auditor general office was asked to expedite its functioning, especially convening the departmental accounts committee well before the PAC meeting.

The committee decided to continue meeting during the National Assembly session while observing all precautionary measures to avoid Covid-19.

Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2020

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Malik Asad is an Islamabad-based reporter for Dawn with two decades of experience covering legal affairs, judicial developments, and the civil bureaucracy. He can be found on X at @asadrp.

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M Irfan

Jun 04, 2020 02:01pm

Rs 5 billion is a lot of money to give to 1 trader and if this trader is living in a 5 marla house then surely the government must take special interest if this trader is a real trader or is he a servant of the real trader behind the scenes? If so, then that would be money laundering and also can anyone care to tell us what this refund was for and why was it to be be paid over 10 years but was all paid in 1 year? Too many irregularities I'm afraid.

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Khawaja

Jun 04, 2020 02:20pm

Toyota Camry for RS12 million? That comes to about $75,000. Is that the price of Toyota Camry in Pakistan?

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M Taimur

Jun 04, 2020 06:05pm

Well done Ibrahim Khan. Now when the issue has been highlighted any specific reason why government is waiting? The link with FM and those involve in sugar scam should also be investigated. Seems the person to whom the money was refunded was just a proxy

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SHAHID SATTAR

Jun 04, 2020 07:13pm

FBR obliged whom?

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S. Israr Ali

Jun 05, 2020 08:10pm

All sorts of rebates, Subsidies, moratorium, protections, waivers and write offs in banks loans being given, daily massive decline in parity rate of rupee etc as if was not enough, that on their pressure blackmailing interest rates were drastically reduced, to massively benefit them at public cost on lending to them by banks from public money in savings and deposit accounts. It was falsely made basis that inflation was under control and prices of goods and services had gone down so interest rates be reduced which was not the case as prices of commodities of daily use and goods and services like rents, wages, cost of communication have never came down rather were constantly on the rise. The savers & deposit holder were massively hit when on their deposits in banks and savings schemes, which are backbone of economy and already very low, interest rates were drastically reduced unilaterally to victimise them instead of giving incentives to encourage and boost savings already very low.

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