The Senate Standing Committee on Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs decided during a meeting with Senator Kazim Khan on Wednesday to defer all three bills on its agenda and directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to draft a fresh legislation to delimit constituencies as the proposed draft did not meet the technical requirements.
The committee failed to develop a consensus on imposition of tax on agricultural income. The Committee chairman said this issue was complex and so needed to be considered thoroughly. Earlier, Ministry of Law officials told the committee that tax on agricultural income was the subject of provinces and the central government did not possess the right to impose a tax on agriculture income. “Tax on income is to be decided by the federal government but tax on agricultural income is at the provinces discretion,” they added.
They said further that the Agriculture Produce Act 1940 had been enforced in provinces. However, they said it lacked implementation in its real spirit. Divergent opinions between committee members and Ministry of Law officials were evident and therefore the chairman decided to defer the bill.
The committee also deferred a bill submitted by senators of Jamaat-i-Islami regarding the social security of general public. The parliamentary body directed the concerned authorities to prepare a feasibility report in this regard.
