For past 12 years, knowing worth of these cards well, I have felt that there is no use in applying for them.
KARACHI: According to a recent news item, the government announced the Taxpayer Privileges and Honour Card Scheme for the 100 top taxpayers, entitling them to the use of VIP lounges at airports and fast-tracking their clearance at immigration counters, etc.
Fifteen years ago or so, the then finance minister, on the floor of the National Assembly, presenting the new budget, had announced a similar incentive scheme for the Overseas Pakistanis (OPs). Under that scheme, those who remitted through legal channels were to be issued an OPF Remittance Card. This card had various categories according to the amount remitted by the OPs, with there being silver, gold and platinum cards, making their holders eligible for different incentives. Two such incentives, irrespective of the category of the card one held were namely: 1) separate quick handling counters at Pakistani airports and 2) card-holders to be invited at all official functions held by Pakistani missions abroad.
Just before the tenure of the previous government ended, the then minister for overseas Pakistanis, on a question asked by the editor of an overseas Pakistani magazine in March 2013, said that “there should be such separate counters” for the use of OPs. The words ‘should be’ are self-explanatory: despite the scheme announced by the former finance minister for the benefit of OPs, the fact is that it was not implemented in reality.
As for the other incentive announced for OPs — that all card-holders would be invited to all officials functions held by Pakistani embassies abroad — despite being a gold card-holder, I never got any such invitation. When I approached the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis, I was told that though the incentive was announced in a budget speech, later the Ministry of Finance did not implement it practically. In other words, not merely OPs, but even the former finance minister was fooled.
These OP remittance cards are valid only for a year from the date of issuance. In the early years, I applied for them twice. My first card was of the silver category and the second one was of the gold category. For the past 12 years, knowing the worth of these cards well, I have felt that there is no use in applying for them by wasting time filling out forms and completing other formalities at embassies.
I don’t trust such cards anymore and I feel that the recent announcement of a similar card scheme for top taxpayers will turn out to be just that: a mere announcement.
Muhammad Javed
Published in The Express Tribune, February 25th, 2014.
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