The Senate on Friday adopted recommendations of the Standing Committee on Finance Revenue and Economic Affairs on the Petroleum Products (Petroleum Levy) (Amendment) Bill, 2011 and Gas Infrastructure Development Cess Bill, 2011 amid Senator Safdar Abbasi’s strong criticism of levying taxes of Rs 34 billion taxes on the consumers as a result of these bills.
“We are told that this amount is needed for the pipeline. No one can construct a pipeline in the present situation of Balochistan and Afghanistan. This all is a subterfuge to rob people of Rs 34 billion. We have been hearing of the TAPI pipeline for 17 years. I will not support the bill”, Abbasi said. Abbasi said the bills were introduced in the Senate without approval of the cabinet as envisaged under rule 27(5) of Rules of Business 1973. Meanwhile, Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar, who presented the recommendations in the Upper House, said the Senate’s committee concerned approved it with changes after the government’s assured the committee’s proposal will be made part of the law. “We knew that both the bills are not money bills and cabinet’s approval was essential for the bills but cabinet was by-passed by declaring them money bills. We are conscious that the government needs revenue to construct the pipeline and we agreed to support the bills with restrictions on government’s arbitrary powers to enhance levy”, Dar said.
Senate passes criminal law bill to stop oil and gas theft: The Senate on Friday passed The Criminal Law (amendment) Bill, 2011 whereby a person found guilty of oil and gas theft could be handed down an imprisonment of 14 years.
According to the bill, if anyone any person willfully tampers a pipeline or attempts to tamper or abets in tampering with a facility, installation or main pipeline for transmission or transportation, as the case may be, of petroleum, is said to commit tampering with petroleum pipelines or tampers or abets in tampering with petroleum pipelines for the purpose of theft of petroleum or disrupting supply of petroleum and he would be punished with rigorous imprisonment, which may extend to 14 years, but would not be less than seven years and with fine, which may extend to Rs 10 million. Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Dr Asim Hussain presented the bill in the Upper House for passage. The House passed the bill unanimously with minor amendments.