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Express Tribune
4 days ago
- Business
- Express Tribune
Tarar for avoiding conflict of interests
Listen to article Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar has advised the newly appointed members of appellate tribunals dealing with billions of rupees worth of tax matters to recuse themselves from hearing cases where the conflict of interests arises because of their past professional affiliations. The minister spoke to The Express Tribune after questions were posed about the conflict of interests in the case of some of the appellate tribunal members. "When the question of conflict of interests arises, the newly appointed members will choose the option of 'not before me'," Tarar said. Instead of appointing new members of the Inland Revenue appellate tribunal through the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC), the government in January this year constituted a three-member selection committee. Among the committee members were Justice (Retired) Mushir Alam, Major General (Retired) Naveed Ahmad, who is a member of the FPSC, and Asim Zulfiqar, a senior partner of AF Ferguson chartered accountancy firm. On the recommendation of the committee, the federal cabinet has so far appointed 15 members from March to May this year. The newly appointed members have been given salaries equal to judges but they are not independent like the judges, said Dr Ikramul Haq, a senior lawyer at the Supreme Court of Pakistan. He also questioned the selection process, saying there were questions about some of the members' competency and conflict of interests. The members should either work under high courts or the Supreme Court instead of working under the executive branch, he suggested. To a question about bypassing the FPSC, the law minister said the selection process had been outsourced to management consulting firm AT Kearney "for ensuring independence" in the process. To another question how to ensure transparency and objectivity in deciding the cases if some of the tribunal members have worked with tax advisory firms, Tarar replied "we believe that these are mature people and will take care of the conflict of interests". The minister said that whenever such a situation arises, the members should exercise the "not before me" right to avoid hearing cases being pleaded by tax firms where they have worked in the past. The Ministry of Law has made these appointments under Section 130 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001. The law states that a person shall be eligible to be appointed as a member of the Appellate Tribunal, if he is an advocate of a High Court for not less than 15 years and possesses such other qualifications as may be prescribed by rules under this section; has for a period not less than 10 years practiced professionally as a chartered accountant and has for a period not less than 10 years practiced professionally as a cost and management accountant. An officer of the Inland Revenue in BS-21 or above; or an officer of the Inland Revenue in BS-20, having served in such a grade for three years or more, is also eligible for these appointments. The prime minister decided to appoint all these members from the private sector to address the issue of conflict of interests. There had also been incidents in the past where the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) used to influence the outcome of cases, although the members were working under the administrative control of the law ministry. About Rs4 trillion in revenues are stuck at various levels – most of which before the commissioners appeal of the FBR and the appellate tribunals. The FBR and the office of the Attorney General of Pakistan had assured the PM to at least recover about Rs400 billion before June. Similar assurances had also been given to the IMF. However, so far no major breakthrough has been achieved, except in the case of windfall tax. A recent IMF report stated that the Pakistani authorities were actively pursuing the resolution of outstanding cases. It said efforts were being made to recover Rs367 billion out of a total of Rs770 billion under dispute. These included cases pending before the Supreme Court involving Rs43 billion, high courts in Islamabad, Sindh and Lahore involving Rs217 billion and the Appellate Tribunal Inland Revenue Rs104 billion. The report disclosed that the IMF had been assured that the Supreme Court had completed its initial hearing, with a final decision expected by mid-April. A favourable ruling could effectively resolve related cases worth an estimated Rs120 billion, according to the report. The IMF's view was that resolving the cases would help clarify the legality of the disputed claims, thereby supporting future revenue by reducing uncertainty and discouraging future litigation. The appointments of the new members have already been challenged in courts for the lack of transparency. According to media reports, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has issued an interim order on the appointment of members in the Appellate Tribunal Inland Revenue, stating that all appointments would be subject to the final outcome of a writ petition. Earlier, the IHC issued notices to the Ministry of Law secretary, FPSC chairman and Attorney General of Pakistan following a constitutional petition challenging the appointment process of tribunal members. The petition challenges the unadvertised process of "head hunting" and the lack of transparency. It alleges that the appointment process did not follow the established rules and procedures.
Express Tribune
03-03-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Pakistan rethinks full disclosure of graft report
Pakistan has decided to examine the possibility of withholding a major portion of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption's (UNCAC) Country Review Report, six months after committing to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a full disclosure of the report. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has constituted a committee led by the law minister with a mandate to review whether the report should be published in its entirety or should only its executive summary be released, said government sources. The decision has been taken days before the IMF is scheduled to seek the implementation status on Pakistan's commitment to fully publish the report. An IMF review mission which began interactions on Monday for the second loan tranche of $1 billion would seek an update this Friday on Pakistan's commitments before reaching a staff level agreement. This time, the IMF is separately meeting with the State Bank of Pakistan in Karachi and with the federal government officials in Islamabad. During the first day, the fiscal related data was discussed with the IMF, including the implementation status on the fiscal targets for the first half. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif last week constituted a seven-member Cabinet Committee on the UNCAC Country Review Report. The committee comprises three federal ministers, three secretaries and a director general of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). Pakistan ratified the UNCAC in 2007 and its two review cycles have been completed under the convention. The country has a right to publish a full report or print only the executive summary. However, the country had committed with the IMF in September last year that it would fully publish the report once its completed. "We will issue a federal regulation by end-September 2024 to formalize our intention to publish the full and complete UNCAC review report immediately after the review process is completed," said the Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies that Pakistan signed as part of the $7 billion deal package. Under the same deal, the IMF had dispatched the Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment Mission to Pakistan last month, which met with the chief justice of Pakistan to review the appointment of judges and other judicial matters. The corruption assessment mission will also finalize its assessment and its report will be published by July 2025, according to the $7 billion deal. The sources said that the Law Ministry had reported the matter to the federal cabinet last month and it sought the cabinet's direction on the matter. However, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has tasked his Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar to review whether to publish a full or partial report. Among the other members are Minister for Information Atta Tarar, Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Ali Pervaiz Malik, now elevated as federal minister, secretary Ministry of Foreign Affairs, secretary Finance Division, secretary Law and Justice Division and a DG NAB. The cabinet has mandated the committee to examine the country review report of Pakistan under the second review cycle of the UNCAC. Its second and most important mandate is that the committee would "examine the options available for Pakistan to publish the full report or its executive summary. Till the filing of the story, the minister for information did not comment on the question about the need for holding back parts of the report when Islamabad had already committed to publish the full report. The committee is tasked to submit its recommendation on publication of the report or its executive summary for consideration of the cabinet by March 13, which coincides with the end of the IMF Mission to Pakistan. A government official said that Nigeria and Qatar had conducted Pakistan's anti-corruption assessment and submitted a voluminous report. He said some of the recommendations of the report are already under implementation. These are related to overlapping the work of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and NAB and bringing improvement in the working of various regulatory bodies. The report has been prepared with the help of the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC). The expert teams normally prepare 80300 pages' review report and an executive summary of 7-12 pages. The country review report and executive summary are sent to the focal point for approval. In cases of disagreement, the reviewers and the contact point engage in dialogue to arrive at a consensual final report, which is published in full only with the agreement of the country under review. The executive summary, once finalized upon agreement, is translated into the six official languages of the United Nations and made available as a document of the Implementation Review Group. The second cycle of the review report covers topics about preventive measures and asset recovery. The Ministry of Law and Justice has already published the anti-corruption task force review report and is developing a plan to implement the recommended actions. The anti-corruption task force had unanimously recommended that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) should notify rules pertaining to declaration of assets of civil servants serving in Basic Pay Scale 17-22 and their spouses. The IMF has now asked to make it a law, which is pending for approval. The task force had also recommended amending the Elections Act to mandate the non-elected advisers and special assistants to the prime minister to furnish their statement of assets and liabilities. It had recommended making necessary amendments in the NAB law and the FIA act to ensure clear mandate definition, prepare a joint offence list and establish coordination mechanisms between the two agencies to work harmoniously on the offences on which both agencies have jurisdiction. There was also a proposal to provide training on jurisdictional boundaries to officers of NAB, the FIA and the provincial anti-corruption departments. The task force recommended repatriating investigating officers of the FIA posted at airports for processing immigration and task the said responsibility to any other force. To instill a culture of integrity among officials and educate the public at large on their right to seek disclosure of public information under the Right to Information Act and on the regulatory framework in place to appropriately report any corrupt practice to the appropriate forum, a public campaign had been recommended by the task force.
Express Tribune
28-01-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Senate approves PECA amendment bill amid journalists' walkout
Listen to article The Senate approved the Prevention of Electronic Crimes (PECA) (Amendment) Bill 2025 and the Digital Nation Pakistan Bill 2024 on Tuesday, amid a walkout from journalists and protests from opposition members. Chaired by Deputy Chairman Syed Al Nasser, the session addressed a 16-point agenda, with the Electronic Crimes (Amendment) Bill (PECA) being presented for bill was passed despite objections raised by opposition parties and media groups. The PECA Act was already approved by the National Assembly and the Senate's Interior Committee earlier. A majority vote also passed the Digital Nation Pakistan Bill 2025. During the session, Defence and Aviation Minister Khawaja Asif discussed the revival of smaller airports, saying that Chitral's airport is now operational. He also mentioned that Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) was improving, with flights resuming to smaller airports and new aircraft being procured. PIA's revival was acknowledged, and the government is working on opening new routes, including those to Chitral and northern regions. Senator Saifullah Abro raised concerns about PIA's limited fleet and poor operations, highlighting the need for more aircraft and timely flight operations. In response, Khawaja Asif assured that PIA was recovering, with new routes and aircraft acquisitions in progress. The session also witnessed Senator Azam Nazir Tarar introduce the Migration Smuggling Amendment Bill 2025 and the Immigration Ordinance Amendment Bill 2025. Both bills were referred to the relevant standing committees. Later, Minister for Law Azam Nazir Tarar presented the Digital Nation Pakistan Bill 2025, which passed with a majority vote despite opposition protests. Opposition members, including Senator Shibli Faraz, expressed concerns over the lack of consultation on the bill and objected to how the proceedings were conducted. Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) voted in favour of the bill. During the session, Senator Kamran Murtaza's proposed amendments to several sections of the bill were rejected. The senator accused the government of infringing on provincial autonomy and concentrating power in Islamabad. Protests by Journalists over PECA Bill Presentation Subsequently, Federal Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain moved the motion to present the Electronic Crimes Prevention (Amendment) Bill 2025, related to preventing electronic crimes, in the house. This bill (PECA Act) had already been unanimously approved by the National Assembly and Senate committees. At this point, parliamentary journalists once again staged a walkout from the press gallery. The Pakistan Radio Association (PRA) chanted slogans, calling the PECA Amendment Bill a "black law," and journalists left the press gallery in protest. On this occasion, PPP Senator Sherry Rehman came to the press lounge to show solidarity with the journalists. She stated, "We support the journalists' amendments. Stakeholders were not consulted on the PECA Act. This bill was not discussed in the committee, and PPP does not support it. We will sit with the journalists and bring amendments to the PECA Bill. We are working towards the formation of a council in the PECA Bill. Bilawal Bhutto has stated that we stand with the journalists on this issue." The Senate began the process of clause-by-clause approval of the PECA Act Amendment Bill 2025, while Senator Kamran Murtaza's motion for further amendments was rejected. The Senate then passed the PECA Act Amendment Bill 2025 with a majority vote. What is PECA? The Pakistani government is strengthening the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act ( PECA ) with new amendments to tackle fake news and unlawful online content. The proposed Electronic Crimes Prevention (Amendment) Act 2025 introduces severe penalties, including up to three years in prison and fines of Rs2 million for spreading disinformation. A key provision is the establishment of a Digital Rights Protection Authority (DRPA) tasked with regulating social media platforms and removing unlawful content. The DRPA will have powers to investigate complaints, remove content, and enforce digital ethics. The amendments also redefine social media platforms and mandate compliance from social media companies, which may require registering and appointing local representatives. While supporters believe the amendments are essential to combat fake news and hate speech, critics warn of potential censorship and misuse.
