The Senate Standing Committee on Finance on Wednesday urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb to halt the “scandalous” purchase of 1,010 cars by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
Chaired by PPP Senator Saleem Mandviwalla, the Senate panel noted the purchase was conducted in haste without open bidding. The senators also sought action against the individuals responsible to save the government from further embarrassment.
Acting on the request of FBR Chairman Rashid Langrial, the prime minister and the federal cabinet recently approved the purchase of 1,010 cars for FBR officers to improve their operational efficiency. Raising the point in the panel, Senator Faisal Vawda criticized the purchase of cars for the FBR despite it having missing the revenue collection target by Rs. 384 billion for the first half of the ongoing fiscal year. He said the purchase of cars worth Rs. 6 billion was only justifiable if the beneficiaries could recoup at least half of the shortfall.
“This is a scam and should be stopped as soon as possible,” he said, noting the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC)’s approval of the purchase and the order for the same were issued the same day (Jan 10). He further noted the order was placed with a single assembler with no open bidding. “This is ill-intentioned and, very shamelessly, doors for corruption have been opened,” he claimed.
“This is very disturbing and should be stopped,” said Mandviwalla.
PMLN Senator Anusha Rehman echoed their concerns, saying the process “appears to be tailor-made.” She urged the finance minister to stop it immediately.
During the meeting, the FBR’s head of administration sought to defend the purchase by maintaining procurement and technical committees had spent months deliberating on the matter. He said the procurement rules also allowed direct contracting without seeking open bidding.
The committee members also questioned why the FBR had specified vehicles up to 1300cc only, with Mandviwalla claiming this suggested the purchase was designed to meet the products of a single manufacturer.
The committee also deliberated on the State-Owned Enterprises (Governance and Operation) (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which was unanimously approved. It envisages clearer guidelines for the operation and governance of state-owned enterprises