The Excise and Taxation (E&T) Department has been unable to achieve the tax recovery target during this financial year also due to the deteriorating law and order situation in Karachi, which severely affected the recovery of property tax. This was disclosed by E&T Secretary Manzoor Ahmed Memon on Wednesday during a meeting of Sindh Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), presided over by its Chairman Jam Tamachi Unnar.
The audit reports of the E&T department’s accounts pertaining to years 2006-07 to 2008-09 were discussed at the meeting.
Citing corruption as the major reason, the PAC chairman expressed his annoyance over the failure of officers concerned in recovering property tax. Directing the E&T secretary to take action against these officers, he asked Memon to issue show-cause notices to the officers on their failure to achieve the set target.
Unnar suggested that the property tax should be linked with the billing for electricity being issued by the Karachi Electric Supply Company and the electricity to the houses of consumers failing to pay their taxes disconnected. He also emphasised on devising legislation in a way that property tax is recovered more from the rich people than the poor. It was informed at the meeting that around 80,000 Qingqi rickshaws are running in the province without proper registration with the E&T Department and in case of registration of these rickshaws, the government can annually earn around Rs 200 million.
On being informed by the E&T secretary that dumpers and tractors are also not registered in the province, the PAC members recommended that the government should ensure registration of Qingqi rickshaws within three months. Moreover, the government should draft necessary legislation in the forthcoming budget session of the Sindh Assembly for bringing the rickshaws, dumpers and tractors into the tax net.
Earlier, Sindh Auditor General Najmul Saqib Siddiqui had informed the meeting participants that financial irregularities worth Rs 88 million were detected during the department’s audit while around Rs 21 million have been recovered. E&T Secretary Memon told the PAC members that 26 officers were suspended by the department for their involvement in irregularities.
Memon also disclosed at the meeting that another Rs 800 million have been misappropriated in the department with the help of National Bank of Pakistan staff. He complained that the Board of Revenue has still not provided the record in this regard despite the department issuing 10 reminders. The PAC members recommended that the department should contact Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to seek action against the bank staff.
