PAC irked over Rs580m revenue loss

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Balochistan Provincial Assembly has raised serious concerns over a staggering monthly revenue loss of Rs580.996 million in the Excise and Taxation Department.

During a review meeting, the committee criticized the department's failure to meet property tax, motor vehicle tax, provincial excise, and professional tax collection targets for the financial year 2022-23.

The meeting was attended by Assembly Secretary Tahir Shah Kakar, Accountant General Balochistan Nasrullah Jan, DG Audit Shuja Ali, Excise and Taxation Secretary Syed Zafar Ali Bukhari, Additional Secretary PAC Siraj Lehri, Additional Secretary Finance Hafiz Muhammad Qasim, Chief Accounts Officer Syed Muhammad Idrees and DG Excise Zeeshan Raza.

The PAC noted that out of the Rs 1.2 billion allocated for the department's non-development budget in 2021-22, only Rs1 billion was spent, leaving Rs175 million unutilized. Additionally, the Finance Department provided extra funds in violation of budget rules.