ISLAMABAD - Senate Standing Committee on Finance has recommended Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to introduce amnesty scheme for all sectors, specially for industrial sectors, along with the real estate sector.

The committee expressed concerns on giving tax amnesty scheme for the real estate sector only. It has recommended that the government should give an opportunity to all sectors to whiten their black money through amnesty scheme. The committee, which met under the chair of Senator Saleem Mandviwalla in parliament house, has discussed the amnesty scheme for the real estate sector.

An official of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) informed the committee that 1,919 transactions have been made under the scheme since December 7, when the scheme was launched in the country. He further informed that the FBR has collected Rs50 million taxes under the scheme.

Senator Mandviwala expressed concerns over the matter and called for equal treatment. Senator Osman Saifullah Khan said the scheme is open ended. “It should be time bound and there should be some carrot and stick policy in this regard”, Senator Saifullah proposed.

The parliamentary committee also discussed the ‘Qarz Utaro Mulk Sanwaro’ scheme introduced in 1997. Ministry of Finance Secretary Waqar Masood informed that there was three sub schemes namely donations, Qarz-e-Hasna and Term Deposit under the scheme. The committee was told that total donations stood at Rs2.032 billion, while people deposited Rs470.659 million as Qarz-e-Hasna and Rs302 million as term deposit.

The committee was further informed that out of donations of Rs2.032 billion, the most expensive domestic debt of the federal government amounting to Rs1.7 billion carrying mark-up rate of 17.29 percent was retired on June 30, 1997.

The Committee was given assurance by the secretary finance to settle the donations amounting to Rs332.142 million for debt retirement, whereas circulars would be issued to the banks for clearance of Rs470.659 million on account of Qarz-e-Hasna.

Mandviwala asked Ministry of Finance to settle the amount under Qarz-e-Hasna and Term Deposit schemes on priority as the people who deposited their money were not being responded positively from the banks concerned.

Dr Waqar Masood said that the ministry would issue a circular to all the concerned banks in this regard and it would prepare a list of all those who had deposited their money under the schemes. The Committee was informed by the State Bank of Pakistan that a draft amendment is being proposed to declare sale of bank notes on premium as a punishable offence. The Committee recommended that effective legislative measures are required to be taken up to curtail this practice.

The Committee was attended by Senators Mohsin Khan Leghari, Kamil Ali Agha, Osman Saifullah Khan and Mohsin Aziz besides Ministry of Finance secretary and senior officers of the relevant departments.