K-P to approach FBR for Rs5b outstanding dues

Finance adviser says delegation will be sent to Islamabad to discuss the matter

PESHAWAR:

In a bid to secure financial support, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government has taken steps to address its outstanding dues from the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

A sum of Rs5 billion is owed to the K-P Revenue Authority (KPRA), prompting Advisor Finance Muzammil Aslam to reach out to the FBR chairman.

Talking to The Express Tribune, an official said that Advisor Finance Muzammil Aslam has contacted the chairman of FBR over the phone in this regard. Both parties have acknowledged the overdue payment of Rs5 billion and have agreed to dispatch a delegation to Islamabad for further negotiations to resolve the issue.

“The payment of Rs9.4 billion was due and FBR paid Rs4.1 billion in February while the amount of Rs5.3 billion is pending,” he said.

On March 20, the K-P government resolved to engage with the central government regarding its outstanding dues amounting to Rs53 billion over the past two years.

The announcement came to light during a meeting addressing the budget concerns of the recently merged districts of the province, as conveyed by Aslam.

Aslam elaborated that during the merger in 2018, the federal government committed to an annual payment of Rs66 billion to cover the salaries of government employees in K-P. In addition, a further Rs100 billion was designated for the rapid development of these regions.

Regrettably, Aslam remarked, these commitments have not been honoured, resulting in significant challenges for the province. Despite increased responsibilities, the anticipated resources failed to materialise, leaving the province grappling with financial strain.

On March 17, Muzamal Aslam highlighted a significant decrease in tax collection during the caretaker provincial government, noting a decline of 50 per cent.

Addressing media representatives, he refuted the claim made by the caretaker chief minister regarding a remaining balance of Rs100 billion in the provincial exchequer, asserting that while the treasury was not entirely depleted, the stated amount was inaccurate.

Additionally, Aslam, who presided over three separate meetings, reiterated the commitment to foster development in the mines and mineral sector of the province, pledging to introduce incentives to attract investors.

“The caretaker government’s claim that they inherited an empty treasury is not correct. They had enough funds to run the government smoothly and also failed to collect taxes,” he claimed, adding that the tax collection has dropped drastically under the caretakers.

“Rs100 billion is sufficient enough funds. If they had large funds then why did they stop the Sehat Card in the province which largely benefited the marginalised segments of the society in the province,” he noted, adding that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government in the past 10 years received Rs630 billion in loans.

“The provincial government has signed deals with the World Bank and other organisations to obtain another Rs600 billion in loans,” he maintained, adding that the K-P chief minister claimed rightly that the Centre has to pay Rs1,500 billion under the head of net hydel profit.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 1^st, 2024.