ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) restructure has prompted worries from Caretaker Law Minister Ahmed Irfan Aslam, who clarified that the interim administration lacks the authority to enact significant legislation. This was reported by The News on Friday.
To compel the FBR to resend the summary for restructuring, the interministerial committee, chaired by acting finance minister Shamshad Akhtar, met for a second day in a row on Thursday.
The meeting went ahead even though Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar’s last federal cabinet meeting’s formal minutes were never released.
The decision was made to distribute interministerial meeting minutes first. The members would next make definitive conclusions regarding this intricate matter of sending their suggestions to the federal cabinet.
According to sources, Akhtar met with the prime minister on Thursday before presiding over the interministerial meeting. During their meeting, Akhtar reportedly tried her hardest to persuade the committee members to compel the FBR to resend the summary to the federal cabinet by January 29, 2024.
However, no choice has been taken as of yet.
Aslam, however, objected to such significant legal changes throughout the discussion. A different minister inquired as to whether the FBR staff members will continue to work as civil servants following the redesign.
However, FBR executives have already made contact with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to request that the caretakers refrain from initiating any further restructuring, stating that this is an issue best left to the next administration that will be formed following the elections.
In the filed representation, they contended that the decision to violate the Election Act was not mandated by the caretakers.
The FBR officers anticipate that the ECP would direct the government in this manner, although the commission has not yet made a decision.
