FinMin staff given Rs240m unapproved honoraria

The new audit report from the Auditor General of Pakistan for the fiscal year of 2024-23 has revealed that the finance ministry employees in all grades were given honoraria to the tune of Rs240 million without approval from the cabinet.

The report states that the ministry gave away four honoraria, cumulatively paying Rs225.4 million to the employees in grades 1-20 and another Rs13.5 million to the officers in grades 21 and 22. It says that these honoraria were given illegally.

Under the relevant laws, the federal employees can be given honorarium for special work. In 2020, the prime minister had directed that the Finance Division or the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) could not approve the honorarium on their own.

The report further says the ministry gave the honoraria to the employees without the approval of the federal cabinet, adding that it is against the law to issue four bonuses equal to the basic salary to employees in a year.

According to the audit report, the officers' income tax slabs were kept low by excluding the honorarium from their salaries. As a result, the ministry issued demand drafts instead of crossed cheques to avoid income tax on the payments.