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Business Recorder
a day ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
PFA seals 4 food units, imposes Rs1.2m fine
LAHORE: The Punjab Food Authority (PFA) on Thursday sealed four well-known food production units during a grand operation in Thokar area and lodged FIRs against the food business operators over forgery and hygiene violations. Food safety teams conducted the operation as part of the PFA's ongoing crackdown against food adulteration and forgery. Food safety teams imposed fines worth Rs1.2 million and discarded thousands of kilograms of expired and unsafe food items. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Express Tribune
08-07-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
PAC unearths Rs1.2b bank loan scandal
An audit report presented to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has revealed that Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) employees caused a loss of Rs1.2 billion to the national treasury through a fraud involving forged documents. Audit officials on Tuesday told a meeting of the PACheld under the chairmanship of Junaid Akbar on Tuesdaythat in several cases, loans sanctioned for farmers never reached them as ZTBL employees misappropriated these loans. Appearing before the committee, ZTBL president stated that the bank dismissed 400 employees found involved in altering loan documents. "We have placed personal contact numbers and awareness boards in every branch. We have recovered Rs270 million so far, and recovery efforts are ongoing," he said. The committee asked the president to address the issue in coordination with the audit department. It was also revealed that the ZTBL had failed to recover Rs9 billion in loans with 1,601 borrowers not returning even a single rupee. Audit officials said only 16% of recoverable amounts were collected from borrowers in Quetta, Karachi, and Lahore. They also noted a growing number of loan defaulters across the country. MNA Khawaja Sheraz asked why is the ZTBL constantly sinking when the banking sector is profitable. The ZTBL is a state-owned agricultural development bank that provides agricultural credit and banking services to farmers across the country. It remains the largest public sector agriculture development financial institution in the country. The PAC also took suo motu notice on Jamshed Dasti's request regarding a loss of 1.1 million litres of petrol at the Pakistan State Oil (PSO) due to employee negligence. The PSO managing director (MD) told the committee that the estimated value of the lost petrol is Rs180 million. "We recovered Rs40 million from the responsible employees after dismissing them," he said.
Business Recorder
04-07-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Syndicate holds meeting for budget recommendations of PU
LAHORE: The 1758th meeting of the Syndicate was held under the chairmanship of Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Ali for the budget recommendations of Punjab University for the financial year 2025-26, in which the Syndicate recommended the Senate to approve a budget of Rs20.16 billion. On the directions of Dr Muhammad Ali, it has been recommended to increase scholarships and subsidies to reduce the financial burden of students and their parents. On the instructions of Dr Muhammad Ali, the university has increased the amount of scholarship from Rs380 million to Rs406 million compared to the previous year. In addition, scholarships will also be given to students of the university under the Honhaar Scholarship Programme, HEC and Punjab Education Endowment Fund. Due to the initiatives of Dr Muhammad Ali, the budget deficit of Punjab University has decreased for the first time. This year, the budget deficit is Rs1.2 billion compared to Rs2 billion last year. On this occasion, the syndicate members appreciated the austerity policy of the Punjab University administration. On the instructions of Dr Muhammad Ali, approval was given to increase the research grant from Rs229 million to Rs297 million to further improve the international ranking of the university and promote the research culture that has a positive impact on the country's economic and social development. Speaking on the occasion, Dr Muhammad Ali said that the university's budget deficit will be eliminated in the next 3 years. He said that the university will prioritize increasing sources of income instead of borrowing. He said that the university's endowment fund will be strengthened. For the first time, the university will receive a grant of Rs780 million from the Punjab government. According to other salient features of the budget, special students will be provided free education and free accommodation, while students who take admission on the basis of sports will be provided free education and tuition fees for Hafiz Quran will be waived. The Punjab University administration will provide a subsidy of crores of rupees to students residing in the hostel, transport while the subsidy provided towards electricity bills in teaching departments is in addition to this. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Express Tribune
30-06-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Taxed to the limit, still in the red: govt misses target by a mile
The federal government has missed the annual tax target of nearly Rs13 trillion by a record margin of around Rs1.2 trillion, as the authorities failed to increase the tax revenues to 10.6% of the size of the economy, despite putting unprecedented additional burden on the people. The collection, nonetheless, was Rs2.43 trillion or 26% higher than the preceding year, proving independent analysts correct that the government had set a wrong target in the first place that was impossible to achieve without a mini-budget. The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) provisionally collected Rs11.73 trillion in the fiscal 2024-25 – falling short of the target by about Rs1.2 trillion, according to its provisional figures, on Monday, the last day of the financial year. The federal government had given a commitment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that it would increase the tax-to-GDP ratio to 10.6% in fiscal 2024-25. However, the ratio remained at little over 10.2% of the GDP, according to the provisional figures compiled till Monday evening. The shortfall of about Rs1.2 trillion is unprecedented because the government had imposed a record Rs1.3 trillion in additional taxes in the budget. This follows the fiscal year 2019-20, when the economy suffered greatly due to Covid-19 and as a result the target was missioned by a margin of Rs1.6 trillion. After assuming the office in August last year, FBR Chairman Rashid Langrial had said that the collection through additional measures might not be more than Rs650 billion due to slowdown of the economy, and inflation falling to single digit. In July last year, former FBR chairman Amjad Zubair Tiwana had said that irrespective of the amount of efforts that the FBR would put in, the annual collection could not exceed Rs11.8 trillion. His prophecy was proven correct. The government overburdened the salaried class and taxed almost every essential consumable good, including packaged milk, to raise Rs12.97 trillion in taxes. The FBR had to chase an unrealistic tax target coupled with a slowing economy and falling inflation rate – the three key factors that have overshadowed the 26% increase in the collection from the sluggish economy. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb had vowed to achieve the over Rs12.9 trillion target without the need for the mini-budget. He could not succeed, although the government increased petroleum levy rates to record Rs78 per litre to offset the impact of tax shortfall on the primary budget surplus target. At the start of the fiscal year, the petroleum levy rate was Rs60 per litre on petrol and high speed diesel. The huge shortfall is also far more than what the government had committed to the IMF just in March this year, when the lender lowered the target by Rs640 billion for the full fiscal year. Subsequently, the government further downward revised the target to Rs11.9 trillion in June, which was missed, too. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has been personally focusing on the affairs of the FBR and he has tried to introduce many new initiatives, including digital tracking of the economy and focusing on tax evasion prone sectors. FBR Chairman Langrial also got more fiscal incentives for his workforce, including giving them new 1,300 cc cars and additional one to four monthly salaries. The federal government approved Rs55 billion worth of two projects for the FBR to strengthen its workforce, set up new custom posts along the Indus River to curb smuggling and upgrade digital infrastructure. The tax authorities said that the results of all these initiatives would be visible in the new fiscal year. Langrial also vowed to take affidavits from chief finance officers of the companies to check under declaration of the sales and to collect more revenues from the businesses and the people, including the richest people of Pakistan. However, all such initiatives did not help reach the goal. Also, the government could not meet the commitment to collect Rs50 billion in income taxes from the retailers under the Tajir Dost Scheme. The collection could not even reach Rs50 million. For the new fiscal year, the government has set the Rs14.13 trillion worth tax target for the FBR, which requires 20% growth in collection over the last fiscal year's revenues. For the month of June, the FBR's target was Rs1.67 trillion. However, despite taking advances and slowing refunds, it could collect Rs1.49 trillion, falling short of the target by about Rs180 billion. The IMF compelled the country to impose new taxes, primarily burdening the salaried class and levying taxes on nearly all consumable goods, including medical tests, stationery, vegetables, and children's milk. Tax collection breakup The FBR missed its targets for sales tax, federal excise duty, and customs duty but again exceeded the income tax target on the back of over burdening the salaried class. According to the details, income tax collection amounted to nearly Rs5.8 trillion, Rs340 billion more than the target. It was also Rs1.25 trillion more than the last year. The burden was shared by the salaried class and the corporate sector, as the retailers and landlords still remained under-taxed. Sales tax collection stood at Rs3.9 trillion, nearly Rs1.03 trillion less than the target of over Rs4.9 trillion. The sales tax remained the most difficult area for the FBR and one of the reasons for low collection was less than estimated growth in large industries. The government had immensely increased the sales tax burden in the budget. The collection was Rs812 billion more than the last year. The FBR collected Rs767 billion in the federal excise duty, Rs187 billion less than the target. But it was Rs190 billion higher than the last year. The government did not spare homes, lubricants, fruit juices, cement, sugar etc from imposing the excise duty in the last budget. Yet it miserably failed to achieve the target. Custom duty collection stood at Rs1.28 trillion, Rs315 billion below the target. The collection was hit by lower-than projected import volumes. It was Rs173 billion more than the last year. The FBR paid Rs493 billion in tax refunds, which were Rs13 billion more than the preceding year.
Express Tribune
26-06-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Bilawal explains why PPP supports federal budget
Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Thursday outlined his party's reasons for supporting the PML-N-led ruling coalition's second budget, saying key amendments were made based on PPP's input. Addressing the National Assembly ahead of the budget's passage, Bilawal explained why the PPP Parliamentarians – a major coalition partner – had decided to back the finance bill, despite earlier objections. The PPP's support comes just days after it strongly criticized the federal budget, accusing the government of discriminating against Sindh and threatening to boycott the approval process. A similar standoff occurred last year between the PPP and the PML-N, which the PTI had described as a "fixed fight" meant to deflect public scrutiny. Nevertheless, things remained largely calm between the PPP and the PML-N during this year's budget session. In his speech, Bilawal noted that the government had increased funding for the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), a welfare scheme introduced by his mother & former premier Benazir Bhutto, by 20 per cent. The PPP leader criticized the previous PTI government for attempting to undermine BISP in every budget and commended the incumbent Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for consistently increasing its funding since assuming office. The PPP chairman further noted that the government raised the income threshold for tax exemption from Rs600,000 to Rs1.2 million annually. Additionally, he highlighted that the tax on solar panels was reduced from 18 per cent to 10 per cent following objections raised by PPP members. Bilawal also welcomed the decision to curtail the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR)'s arrest powers. Under the new policy, arrests in tax cases can now only be made in instances of proven fraud and not at the inquiry stage. Moreover, such offences have been declared bailable. "These are the reasons why the PPP is supporting this budget," he said. Earlier, the PPP chairman chaired a meeting of PPP parliamentary party, attended by all PPP lawmakers. During the session, PPP members briefed Bilawal on their proposals regarding the federal budget. He was also informed about the amendments incorporated into the budget as a result of PPP's input. Bilawal was given a detailed briefing on the acceptance of the party's demand for a 20% increase in the budget of the BISP program, a party statement said, adding he was also apprised that the tax on solar panels has been slashed by nearly 50% in response to PPP's consistent advocacy. Bilawal was also informed about how the government withdrew the controversial amendments related to FBR's powers to arrest owing to PPP's strong reservations. On PPP's suggestion, the PPP lawmakers were told that the federal budget now includes a 10% increase in government salaries and a 7% rise in pensions. Moreover, PPP legislators were briefed that the party secured complete income tax exemption for salaried individuals earning up to Rs100,000 per month. Another key achievement highlighted during the briefing was the restoration of budgetary allocations for universities in Sindh following PPP's demand.
