ZAHEER ABBASI

ISLAMABAD: The Tax Policy Board meeting for providing policy guidelines in framing fiscal policy, achieving goals and targets, and broad strategy for the budget would be further delayed as its nominees require ratification from the parliamentary committees on finance.

Sources said that a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance, convened for ratification of nominees of the Board, could not take place as committee Chairman Senator Farooq H Naek was busy in the Supreme Court. The next meeting of the committee has not been scheduled yet and ratification by the committees - Finance Committees of the National Assembly and Senate - is required under the FBR Act.

The Section 6 of the FBR Act, 2007 envisages establishment of a Policy Board to provide guidance in matters relating to the vision, mission and values of the Board, and to provide policy guidelines in framing fiscal policy and in achieving goals and targets.

The finance minister is the chairman of the board along with 7 ex-officio members including ministers for commerce, industries, textiles and privatisation, chairman Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue, chairman National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue and chairman FBR who would also act as secretary of the Policy Board.

The meeting of the Board is to be held at least once every quarter of the financial year.

In addition to ex- officio members, one member each from the Senate and National Assembly has been nominated by the chairman Senate and speaker National Assembly respectively. Senator Kauda Babar was nominated by the Senate and Speaker National Assembly nominated Muhammad Hammad Azhar, Minister of State for Revenue, as members.

The law provides for nominees to have necessary qualifications, experience and expertise from amongst sectoral specialists and businesses to be the members of the Policy Board.

The nominated members, other than ex-officio members, are also to be ratified by the Standing Committees on Finance and Revenue of both the Senate and National Assembly.

The federal cabinet approved the summary for establishment of the Policy Board on November 8, 2018 and the Prime Minister has also been pleased to approve the subject nominations for the Policy Board.

The Prime Minister’s nominees included: (i) Abdul Razzak Dawood, Adviser for Commerce, Industries & Textile Industries; (ii) Syed Javed, information technology professional; (iii) Chairman NADRA Usman Yousaf Mobin; (iv) Mir Abdullah Yousaf, former Chairman FBR as well as former federal secretary; (v) Dr Ijaz Nabi, economist who worked in World Bank and International Centre for Governance; (vi) Salman Siddique, former chairman FBR and former secretary finance.