Tag: expenditure

  • Naya Pakistan: PM House expenditure falls from Rs59 crores in 2018 to Rs28 crores in 2020

    Naya Pakistan: PM House expenditure falls from Rs59 crores in 2018 to Rs28 crores in 2020

    With Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s government still seeming determined to relieve the treasury of some of its burden as part of the ruling party’s austerity drive, the expenditures of PM House and Office have reportedly reduced by 49% and 29%, respectively.

    According to reports, the total expenditure of the PM House narrowed down to Rs280 million (Rs28 crores) in 2020 from Rs339 million (Rs33 crores) in 2019 and Rs590 million (Rs59 crores) in 2018 — the year when the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was handed reins of the country.

    The PM Office witnessed a considerable decrease in its expenditure from 2018 to 2020, but last year was slightly more than in 2019. It stood at Rs334 million (Rs33 crores) in 2020, Rs305 million (Rs30 crores) in 2019 and Rs514 million (Rs51 crores) in 2018.

    In a first, the premier has not used any discretionary funds in the form of cash awards, gifts etc. He has made around 26 official visits till now, but their combined cost stood at a mere Rs176 million (Rs17 crores) as compared to his predecessors.

    The premier, since assuming office in 2018, has been pushing for austerity measures to save taxpayers’ money and reduce the burden on the national exchequer.

    Despite the steps taken by PM Imran in this regard, the austerity drive has faced multiple setbacks owing to the apparent reluctance of the lawmakers in cutting down expenses.

  • Rs15 crores for venue, Rs1 crore for singers, Rs20 lacs on makeup: Details of ‘elite wedding’ expenditure

    The owner of Master Tiles is on the Federal Board Revenue (FBR) radar for spending Rs2 billion on the wedding ceremony of his son.

    The wedding ceremony that had attracted media attention for its extravagant style also featured several Pakistani celebrities in addition to a troupe of foreign gymnasts.

    Subsequently, a probe was conducted by the FBR into the “service providers involved in the lavish arrangements” to detect possible tax evasion. The document shared by the FBR said that Rosa Blanca Country Club, the venue of baraat located on Raiwind Road in Lahore, was paid Rs150 million for the premises.

    The FBR inquiry said that the private company doesn’t have an NTN (national tax number) at all, adding that there’s a strong reason to suspect that the entity was not paying taxes at all.

    The wedding organisers supposedly paid Rs5.5m to singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, while singers Atif Aslam was paid Rs5m for gracing the mehndi night. Cleric Moulana Tariq Jameel was reportedly paid Rs1m for solemnising the marriage ceremony.

    K-5 Concepts — event manager that managed baraat decor– was paid Rs15-20m as per FBR. It was also accused of tax evasion along with Rosa Blanca. Qasim Yar Tiwana, the event manager, was paid Rs15-20m for the decor of the baraat. According to FBR, Tiwana declared Rs216,743 as income from business in the tax year 2019.

    Whimsica I Parties and United Events and Services were paid Rs10m each for decor, whereas Ahsan Habib also received Rs10m in payments for walima decorations.

    Photographers and videographers also provided their services for hefty amounts. Irfan Ahsan was paid approx Rs3m, Mobeen Studios charged Rs2m, Osman Pervaiz received Rs3-3.5m, while Ahmad Fayyaz charged Rs1m for photography at mehndi and baraat.

    Shazray Khalid and Winc by Nadia charged Rs1m each for makeup services.

    CHECK OUT THE FULL REPORT HERE:

    November 13, 2020
  • Supreme Court criticises NDMA over lack of transparency in expenditure

    Supreme Court criticises NDMA over lack of transparency in expenditure

    The Supreme Court (SC) has criticised the National Disaster Management Authority’s (NDMA) failure to ensure transparency in expenditures pertaining to the coronavirus pandemic and locust control.

    A five-member bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed, heard the coronavirus suo moto case, during which the CJP suggested abolishing the NDMA over the authority’s failure to explain its expenses.

    NDMA has yet to submit crucial documents, observed the CJP. “Where are the documents permitting imports of machinery from Al-Hafeez Crystoplast (Pvt) Ltd?” he asked. The CJP also inquired why the documents have not been submitted despite directives being issued thrice in this regard. Where are the details pertaining to chartering the aircraft and its payments, he asked further.

    The director of NDMA maintained before the court that the authority did not import machines from Al-Hafeez company.

    The owner of the company has yet to appear, noted the CJP. The real issue is non-compliance with customs and other laws, he remarked.

    Meanwhile, Justice Ijazul Hasan noted that the cost of the machinery has not been disclosed in the documents.

    Over Rs10.7 million was paid for the charter, observed the CJP. How were the payments made according to the charter agreement, he asked. How can someone give this much cash in Karachi, asked the CJP.

    Where are the documents pertaining to imports of vaccine and the medicines, asked the CJP

    The relevant authorities will have to satisfy the court, said the Attorney General.

    The CJP observed that it appeared that the NDMA would have to be abolished as its chief has failed to provide explanations.

    Perhaps a lot has gone wrong and attempts are being made to cover up, observed the CJP. Should contempt of court notices be issued to the NDMA chief, he asked.

    The institutions of the country should be run in a transparent manner, said the chief justice.

    The NDMA was given a free hand and hefty amounts to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, said Justice Hasan. The authority is answerable to the court and the people, he added.

    The NDMA is acquiring planes and machinery for locust control, noted the CJP. Transparency will have to be ensured through documents and not just verbal statements, he remarked, adding that it was not comprehensible how billions of rupees were being spent.

    From corona to floods to locusts, everything has been handed over to the NDMA, remarked Justice Hasan. But the NDMA’s admin member himself does not know anything, he added.

  • Civil govt’s expenditure reduced by Rs9 billion in Q1 2019-20, claims finance ministry

    Civil govt’s expenditure reduced by Rs9 billion in Q1 2019-20, claims finance ministry

    The Ministry of Finance has claimed that civil government’s expenditure has reduced by Rs9 billion in the first quarter of the current fiscal year (2019-20) compared to the same period of the last fiscal year (2018-19), a private news outlet has reported.

    According to the reports, in order to revamp the entire Public Financial Management System, Finance Division has presented the Public Finance Management (PFM) law which has been approved and enacted.

    Moreover, this law has reportedly put several controls and monitoring mechanisms on federal spending units, the cabinet, and the parliament. The committee under the PFM Act will oversee the implementation and secondary legislation has been notified. Finance Division is working on the introduction of pre-audit and internal audit systems within ministries.

    Reports further reveal that the Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy and framework have been approved and recently, the Fiscal Advisory Department of IMF [International Monetary Fund] extended technical facilitation to achieve structured implementation of TSA which revolves around efficient cash management, treasury management, and debt management.

    Finance Division is also reportedly involved in the working of the Task Force on Restructuring of the federal government where realignment of federal entities is underway leading to merger, liquidation, and retention of selected entities.