Sindh CM authorises revenue board to collect power duty

Constitutes committee that will hold meeting with SBP governor on the issue

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has authorised the Sindh Revenue Board (SRB) that it can collect electricity duty from power distribution companies from the next financial year.

In a meeting held on Friday, Shah approved the appointment of a well-reputed auditor to audit and reconcile accounts of previous years.

The meeting was attended by Energy Minister Imtiaz Shaikh, Principal Secretary to CM Sajid Jamal Abro, Finance Secretary Najam Shah, Energy Secretary Musadiq Khan, Local Government Secretary Khalid Hyder Shah and others.

The chief minister worked out the units that K-Electric billed its consumers in 2015-16 and estimated collection of Rs2.4 billion in electricity duty on behalf of the Sindh government. That amount must have increased in subsequent years "but we have not received a single penny so far", he said.

Murad calls for direct payment of electricity duty to Sindh govt

He directed the provincial energy minister to appoint an auditor for auditing the accounts of power distribution companies - K-Electric, Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco) and Sukkur Electric Power Company (Sepco) - in order to assess the amount they had to pay to the Sindh government.

The chief minister also constituted a three-member committee which would hold a meeting with the State Bank of Pakistan governor and request him to direct commercial banks accepting electricity bills to deposit the electricity duty directly in Sindh government's account.

Meanwhile, the SRB after amendment in its law would deal directly with the power distribution companies.

The chief minister directed the SRB to propose amendment in its law so that it could be authorised to collect, audit and reconcile electricity duty.

Govt asked to cut clean energy taxes

Board of Revenue meeting

The Sindh chief minister also presided over a meeting of the Board of Revenue and approved a plan of launching e-stamp duty, which would start from the next financial year. The chief minister was told that its annual collection was Rs10 billion. Responding to that, he said there were pilferages in the stamp duty collection because it was being done manually. He directed the revenue minister to launch e-stamp duty and its collection would double.

Revenue Minister Makhdoom Mahboob told the chief minister that NADRA was their consultant for launching e-stamp duty. In response, Shah said let NADRA develop software for the Board of Revenue and in the meantime the e-stamp duty system introduced by the Punjab government may be replicated.

A senior member of the Board of Revenue told the chief minister that the FBR had imposed a ban on the purchase of over Rs4-million property by non-filers of tax returns. "This restriction has brought real estate transactions almost to a standstill," he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 1^st, 2019.

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