ISLAMABAD, Aug 5: A scheme launched by National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) offering opportunities to businessmen to generate additional revenues from its existing outlets has become a nightmare for thousands of its franchisees across the country as they find themselves at the losing end despite their investment and hard work.

Under the E-sahulat scheme introduced in 2008, franchisees were to collect utility bills, dispense pins for mobile phones and calling cards and carry online verification of computerised national identity cards on a pre-paid model.

A franchisee told Dawn that an amount of Rs100,000 had been charged as security when he was given a franchise.

He said he gets a commission of Rs5 per utility bill irrespective of the amount of the bill. “I have to deposit Rs200,000 every day with the bank in advance to charge the collected bills to the pre-paid account.

He said many a times, the amount deposited with the bank was not charged to the pre-paid account for days and even after due date of the bill which prompted Nadra to charge late surcharge on the bill. “That means we have to pay for no fault of ours,” he remarked.

He said despite transactions of millions of rupees every month, the total earning does not exceed Rs7,500 per month on average 50 utility bills every day. He said a full time employee was needed to handle the transactions, and if the salary of the employee and electricity cost was accounted for, it meant you were losing instead of earning.

Another franchisee said the security amount for the scheme had been reduced to Rs20, 000 from Rs100,000 for the new entrants, but lamented that the amount was not being refunded to the old franchisees.

He said the Nadra people keep on harassing the franchisees in the name of monitoring the transparency of transactions. “The customers have to wait when the Nadra people come and occupy the machine to check transactions. “When the online systemis there, the need for frequent physical inspections does not arise,” he argued.

A franchisee said that a customer who received a bill in minus mistakenly deposited his bill.

The online system should have not accepted the bill, but an excessive amount was somehow charged by the online system. He said when the Nadra was contacted, they insisted that the amount stood transferred and accused him of trying to hoodwink the customer.

“When I told them that in such a case, I would never have tried to charge the bill online, I was told that the additional amount would be adjusted in next bill and you should directly contact the customer and ask him to return the money.”

The franchisees were of the view that their commission should be rationalised and they should be given at least three to four days to charge the bills collected by them. They said there was no justification in charging fine on the bills.

Deputy Chairman Nadra Malik Tariq claimed that it was a feasible business. He said there were franchises which were earning Rs50,000 to Rs55,000 per month. He agreed that those who manage to collect 11,000 bills per month had to keep around Rs1 million in rolling to match the collection with the amount in the pre-paid account.

He said the utility service providers gave Rs8 per bill and a major part of it went to franchises. He said even the tax of Rs1.5 per bill was paid by Nadra.

He said the purpose of launching the scheme was to provide business opportunities to the youth and end urban-rural divide.

He said the number of franchises across the country at present was 6,000 and will cross 8,000 in the next phase to be launched in third quarter of the year. He said some 2,000 applications had been received and were being scrutinized.

He, however, agreed that the franchises should get some relaxation in terms of time to process the bills received by them and enable them to avoid paying fine on bills against which their money had already reached Nadra’s pre-paid account.