The Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue unanimously rejected all the sections of the Finance Bill 2023 related to ‘Bonus Share’ and ‘Super Tax’.
Chaired by Senator Saleem Mandviwalla, the committee successfully concluded its deliberations and recommendations on the Finance Bill, 2023-2024 on Friday. The committee took deferred items and considered them for review.
The committee carefully evaluated each deferred item and made several recommendations/decisions. Certain items were accepted, and some were rejected, for finalization of the report. The committee also decided to discuss various recommendations even after the budget. All the deferred items of the Customs Act were accepted after due deliberation
Notably, all sections falling under the ambit of 99D deferred were discussed. It was briefed that it is the role of the federal cabinet and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has no authority over it.
The committee reiterated that the bill supply of consumer goods sold under brand names of trademarks to be taxed by 18 percent will only burden the consumer while the retailer will find ways to avoid the tax regime.
Senator Rukhsana Zuberi, Senator Saadia Abbasi, and Senator Kauda Babar gave general recommendations for the budget. The general recommendations from Senator Rukhsana Zuberi and Senator Saadia Abbasi were included in the budget.
Earlier in the meeting, the Telecom Foundation showed serious concern on the 15 percent regulatory duty and demanded a 2 percent reduction in the tax. It also demanded that a super tax should not be imposed.
The committee chairman also required a briefing on the difference in tax being imposed on a filer and a non-filer and observed that a filer is not given any incentive on taxes implied domestic items.
A representative from the Pepsi-Cola International also attended the meeting. He said that there is a clear decline of 40 percent in the sale of carbonated beverages after the mini-budget with a rise of 20 percent in federal excise duty (FED). The committee will continue its deliberation on Monday on the final recommendations and report.
Source: Pro Pakistani