A Parliamentary panel has asked Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb to immediately halt the purchase of cars for the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). The panel has criticised the purchase as ‘scandalous’ because the FBR is to be rewarded despite being responsible for a revenue shortfall of approximately 384 billion rupees in Fiscal Year (FY) 25.

 

The purchase aims to acquire over one thousand motorcars for FBR officers to improve their operational efficiency. The request for the purchase of 1,010 cars was made by FBR chairman Rashid Mehmood Langrial and was approved by Shehbaz Sharif.

 

In a meeting presided over by Saleem Mandviwalla of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), the Senate’s Standing Committee on Finance implored both Shehbaz Sharif and Muhammad Aurangzeb to reverse the purchase orders which the FBR had made. Reports reveal that the tax watchdog had given the order to a single car assembler without including any other manufacturers via a bidding process.

 

Critics have pointed out that the purchase agreement seems suspicious, while the Standing Committee has said that Islamabad should stop so that the federal government can be spared from further ‘embarrassment’.

 

The issue was initially brought to light by Senator Faisal Vawda, who lambasted the purchase order as the FBR had displayed poor performance in its duties. According to reports, Vawda said that the purchase of cars, which will cost the national exchequer a staggering six billion rupees, could only be justified if the FBR could recoup at least half of the tax shortfall of 384 billion rupees.

 

He said that FBR officials only deserve the cars if they can cut down on the revenue shortfall and should be penalised instead of rewarded if they fail to do so. The senator even went so far as to call the whole purchase agreement ‘a scam’ as only Honda Atlas had been considered.

 

He pointed out how the purchase order and approval from the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) were issued on the same day. According to Faisal Vawda, this indicates the possibility that no other car assembler had even been considered, let alone been given the opportunity to bid for the contract.

 

Senator Vawda lamented the purchase, saying that the “doors to corruption have been opened”. This comment was passed as he explained how Toyota Indus had been offering a lower rate with greater features to the government, such as greater fuel efficiency along with a longer after-sale warranty.

 

According to reports, the FBR decided to purchase from Honda as they were only allowed to purchase vehicles up to 1300cc, while Toyota’s cars were 1328cc. He also remarked how the FBR had not even considered other car assemblers, such as Nissan and Hyundai.