PAC grills FBR chief, food secretary on sugar scandal

ISLAMABAD:

Terming the recent sugar price hike a "sugar scandal," the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) grilled the Chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and the Secretary for National Food Security over sugar exports, imports, and changes in duties.

During the meeting chaired by Junaid Akbar Khan, PAC members raised serious questions about the government's handling of sugar trade policy. Chairman Khan criticized the FBR's inconsistency, stating, "When it comes to public hardship, the FBR blames the IMF. But when it concerns investors, they don't even bother to follow IMF directives." He added that certain investors appear to be receiving undue benefits.

PAC member Khawaja Shiraz questioned under what mechanism 750,000 tons of sugar was exported. In response, FBR Chairman Rashid Langrial said that such decisions are made by the cabinet based on the recommendations of the Food Ministry. He added that the FBR merely implemented the cabinet's directive to abolish the 20% customs duty on sugar imports and to reduce sales tax from 18% to 0.25%. The advance tax was also lowered from 5.5% to 0.25%, he said.

PAC member Naveed Qamar asked why the government had failed to regulate sugar prices and questioned the Competition Commission's role in checking alleged cartelization. "Who allowed the sugar cartels to take over the market?" he asked.

Moin Amir Pirzada noted that neither Murad Ali Shah in Sindh nor Maryam Nawaz in Punjab appeared to have authority to act against sugar mills. He proposed that sugar mill licenses be liberalized so anyone could set up a mill, breaking the monopolies.

When asked about representation in the Sugar Advisory Board, the Food Secretary confirmed that while all stakeholders were represented, there was no consumer representation. Pirzada criticized the omission, asking how a board could be considered representative if it excluded the consumers most affected by price hikes.