Daily Times

KARACHI: The tussle between the provincial and the federal governments over the issue of excise duty deduction has intensified as the Sindh government has lodged a first information report (FIR) against the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), KPT branch, and its divisional head of operations for “illegal” transfer of Rs 294 millions of Sindh to the FBR’s account

The FIR was logged at Mithadar Police Station on Friday.

District South Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Azad Khan confirmed to Daily Times that a FIR against the NBP KPT branch and its divisional head of operations was registered on the complaint from the government officials.

Earlier in the day, Minister Mukesh Chawla had directed Excise and Taxation Department the secretary to lodge a FIR against the NBP KBT branch manager and get him arrested. It is pertinent to mention that the Sindh government had decided earlier to close its NBP account following direct deductions made by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) from Sindh Excise and Taxation Department’s account.

The Sindh government decided to open a new account in the Sindh Bank. For this reason, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has directed the Finance Department to obtain an approval letter from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in order to transfer the account to the Sindh Bank. The Sindh chief minister, in his address during the joint meeting of provincial Excise and Taxation Department and the Sindh Revenue Board, said, “Sindh has already been deprived of the NFC Award. Now the process of direct deductions has also begun. This is not acceptable at all. If unconstitutional steps like this will not stop, we will take help from courts.”

The meeting was attended by Sindh Minister for Excise and Taxation Mukesh Kumar Chawla, Principal Secretary to Sindh Chief Minister Sohail Rajput and many other officials.

During the meeting, direct deductions from Sindh government’s NBP account by the FBR were discussed. Mukesh Kumar, in his briefing, said that the FBR had directly deducted Rs 6 billion from the Sindh government’s account, which was unconstitutional. He said that the amount should be returned to the Sindh government. While instructing the provincial Excise and Taxation Department to close its NBP account, Murad Ali Shah directed the Finance Department to obtain an approval letter from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in order to transfer the account to the Sindh Bank.

“How can a manager deduct Sindh government’s money from a government’s account,” Chawla questioned.

“I need the money for Sindh’s citizens. I do not know how you will get it. It is your problem. We will not allow anyone to further loot the citizens of Sindh. We are even deprived of the NFC Award and now these deductions are totally unacceptable”, Murad said while replying to Chawla’s question.

Published in Daily Times, September 23^rd 2017.