Pulling Back from the Abyss Institute of Public Policy
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Project Information Document (PID)
The World Bank Pakistan Revenue Mobilization Project (P165982) Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Project Information Document (PID) Appraisal Stage | Date Prepared/Updated: 22-Apr-2019 | Report No: PIDA26212 Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized April 19, 2019 Page 1 of 18 The World Bank Pakistan Revenue Mobilization Project (P165982) BASIC INFORMATION OPS_TABLE_BASIC_DATA A. Basic Project Data Country Project ID Project Name Parent Project ID (if any) Pakistan P165982 Pakistan Revenue Mobilization Project Region Estimated Appraisal Date Estimated Board Date Practice Area (Lead) SOUTH ASIA 11-Apr-2019 30-May-2019 Governance Financing Instrument Borrower(s) Implementing Agency Investment Project Financing Economic Affairs Division Federal Board of Revenue Proposed Development Objective(s) Contribute to a sustainable increase in domestic revenue by broadening the tax base and facilitating compliance Components Results-based component: This component includes four areas of objectives: 1. Simple & coherent tax system, 2. Control of taxpayer obligations, 3. Compliance facilitation, 4. Institutional development Traditional IPF component: Upgrade of FBR's ICT systems PROJECT FINANCING DATA (US$, Millions) SUMMARY-NewFin1 Total Project Cost 1,500.00 Total Financing 1,500.00 of which IBRD/IDA 400.00 Financing Gap 0.00 DETAILS-NewFinEnh1 World Bank Group Financing International Development Association (IDA) 400.00 IDA Credit 400.00 Non-World Bank Group Financing April 19, 2019 Page 2 of 18 The World Bank Pakistan Revenue Mobilization Project (P165982) Counterpart Funding 1,100.00 Borrower/Recipient 1,100.00 Environmental and Social Risk Classification Moderate Decision The review did authorize the team to appraise and negotiate Other Decision (as needed) B. -
Audit Report on the Accounts of Federal Board of Revenue (Inland Revenue) Audit Year 2013-2014
AUDIT REPORT ON THE ACCOUNTS OF FEDERAL BOARD OF REVENUE (INLAND REVENUE) AUDIT YEAR 2013-2014 AUDITOR-GENERAL OF PAKISTAN TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABBREVIATIONS & ACRONYMS i PREFACE v EXECUTIVE SUMMARY vii SUMMARY TABLES I Audit Work Statistics xi II Audit Observations Classified by Categories xi III Outcome Statistics xi IV Irregularities Pointed Out xii V Cost-Benefit xii CHAPTER-1 PUBLIC FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT ISSUES 1 CHAPTER-2 FEDERAL BOARD OF REVENUE 2.1 Introduction 7 2.2 Comments on Budget & Accounts 8 2.3 Brief Comments on the Status of Compliance with PAC Directives 13 COMPLIANCE WITH AUTHORITY AUDIT (AUDIT PARAS) CHAPTER-3 NON PRODUCTION OF RECORD 15 CHAPTER-4 IRREGULARITIES AND NON COMPLIANCE 4.1 Sales Tax 21 4.2 Refund of Sales Tax 46 4.3 Federal Excise Duty 53 4.4 Income Tax 58 4.5 Refund of Income Tax 76 4.6 Workers Welfare Fund 78 4.7 Expenditure 80 CHAPTER-5 INTERNAL CONTROL WEAKNESSES 95 Annexure 1 MFDAC 107 Annexure 2 AUDIT IMPACT SUMMARY 132 Annexures PERTAINING TO AUDIT PARAS 133 (3-61) ABBREVIATIONS & ACRONYMS AGP Auditor-General of Pakistan AGPR Accountant General Pakistan Revenue ADIA Additional Director Internal Audit AOP Association of Persons APPM Accounting Policies & Procedures Manual ATIR Appellate Tribunal Inland Revenue ACIR Assistant Commissioner Inland Revenue ACL Audit Command Language BCA Bank Credit Advice BOD Board of Directors BTB Broadening of Tax Base CAATs Computer Assisted Audit Techniques CAO Chief Accounts Officer CAP Collection Automation Process CBR Central Board of Revenue CGA Controller General -
Pakistan's Institutions
Pakistan’s Institutions: Pakistan’s Pakistan’s Institutions: We Know They Matter, But How Can They We Know They Matter, But How Can They Work Better? Work They But How Can Matter, They Know We Work Better? Edited by Michael Kugelman and Ishrat Husain Pakistan’s Institutions: We Know They Matter, But How Can They Work Better? Edited by Michael Kugelman Ishrat Husain Pakistan’s Institutions: We Know They Matter, But How Can They Work Better? Essays by Madiha Afzal Ishrat Husain Waris Husain Adnan Q. Khan, Asim I. Khwaja, and Tiffany M. Simon Michael Kugelman Mehmood Mandviwalla Ahmed Bilal Mehboob Umar Saif Edited by Michael Kugelman Ishrat Husain ©2018 The Wilson Center www.wilsoncenter.org This publication marks a collaborative effort between the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars’ Asia Program and the Fellowship Fund for Pakistan. www.wilsoncenter.org/program/asia-program fffp.org.pk Asia Program Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars One Woodrow Wilson Plaza 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20004-3027 Cover: Parliament House Islamic Republic of Pakistan, © danishkhan, iStock THE WILSON CENTER, chartered by Congress as the official memorial to President Woodrow Wilson, is the nation’s key nonpartisan policy forum for tackling global issues through independent research and open dialogue to inform actionable ideas for Congress, the Administration, and the broader policy community. Conclusions or opinions expressed in Center publications and programs are those of the authors and speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Center staff, fellows, trustees, advisory groups, or any individuals or organizations that provide financial support to the Center. -
Pakistan: Country Partnership Strategy (2021–2025)
Country Partnership Strategy December 2020 Pakistan, 2021–2025 —Lifting Growth, Building Resilience, Increasing Competitiveness Distribution of this document is restricted until it has been endorsed by the Board of Directors. Following such endorsement, ADB will disclose the document to the public in accordance with ADB's Access to Information Policy. CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS (as of 7 December 2020) Currency unit – Pakistan rupee/s (PRe/PRs) PRe1.00 = $0.0062 $1.00 = PRs160.0 ABBREVIATIONS ADB – Asian Development Bank BISP – Benazir Income Support Program CAREC – Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation COVID-19 – coronavirus disease CPS – country partnership strategy GDP – gross domestic product IMF – International Monetary Fund OCR – ordinary capital resources PPP – public–private partnership PSE – public sector enterprise SDG – Sustainable Development Goal SMEs – small and medium-sized enterprises TA – technical assistance NOTES (i) The fiscal year (FY) of the Government of Pakistan and its agencies ends on 30 June. “FY” before a calendar year denotes the year in which the fiscal year ends, e.g., FY2021 ends on 30 June 2021. (ii) In this report, "$" refers to United States dollars. Vice-President Shixin Chen, Operations 1 Director General Werner Liepach, Central and West Asia Department (CWRD) Director Xiaohong Yang, Country Director, Pakistan Resident Mission (PRM), CWRD Team leader Kiyoshi Taniguchi, Principal Economist, Regional Cooperation and Operations Coordination Division (CWRC), CWRDa Team members Naeem Abbas, Senior Procurement -
The Politics of Federalism in Pakistan
The Politics of Federalism in Pakistan: An Analysis of the Major Issues of 18th and 20th Amendments Submitted by: Kamran Naseem Ph. D. Scholar Politics &I R Reg. No.22-SS/ Ph. D IR/ F 08 Supervisor: Dr. Amna Mahmood Department of Politics and IR Faculty of Social Sciences International Islamic University Islamabad 1 Table of Contents Introduction …………………………..……………………….…………………... 20-30 I.I State of the Problem I.II Scope of Thesis I.III Literature Review I.IV Significance of the Study I.V Objectives of the Study I.VI Research Questions I.VII Research Methodology I.VIII Organization of the Study Chapter 1 Theoretical Framework ………..……………………………...……… 31-56 1.1 Unitary System 1.2 Some Similarities in Characteristics of the Federal States 1.2.1 Distribution of Powers 1.2.2 Independence of the Judiciary 1.2.3 Two Sets of Government 1.2.4 A Written Constitution 1.3 Federalism is Debatable 1. 4 Ten Yardsticks of Federalism 1.4.1 One: Comprehensive Control over Foreign Policy 1.4.2 Two: Exemption against Separation 1.4.3 Three: Autonomous Domain of the Centre 1.4.4 Four: The Federal Constitution and Amendments 1.4.5 Five: Indestructible Autonomy and Character 1.4.6 Six: Meaningful and Remaining Powers 1.4.7 Seven: Representation on parity basis of unequal Units and Bicameral Legislature at Central Level 1.4.8 Eight: Two Sets of Courts 1.4.9 Nine: The Supreme Court 2 1.4.10 Ten: Classifiable Distribution of Power 1.4.11 Debatable Results of Testing the Yardsticks of Federalism 1.5 Institutional theory 1.5.1 Old Institutionalism 1.5.2 The New Institutionalism -
National Finance Commission Awards: a Challenge to Center Province Relations in Pakistan
Journal of the Punjab University Historical Society Volume: 33, No. 02, July – December 2020 Rehana Saeed Hashmi * Aroosa Fatima** National Finance Commission Awards: A Challenge to Center Province Relations in Pakistan Abstract Timely and fair distribution of National Finance Commission award is not only essential for the survival of the federation, but it also strengthens the process of democratization. Historically, awards have not been regularly held on time and distributed at the expense of grave ethnic politics, party politics, unagreed formula of distribution, political instability and problematic center province relations. NFC is the constitutional body that is responsible for the distribution of resources and shares amongst the center and provinces. NFC is dealt under the Article 160 of the constitution 1973 that controls the resources, taxes, duties, or revenues in the “divisible pool”, which is to be further divided between the provinces upon an agreed formula. Unresolved financial matters within federations can instigate ethnic national tensions within state in the shape of intra provincial rivalry and resentments with the federation. NFC award holds a strategic importance and it should seldom postponed. Keywords: Centre-Province relations, federation, fiscal federalism, NFC, award distribution criteria, population, 18th Amendment Introduction The federal structure of Pakistan has been designed with strong central government in which the resources and functions are distributed among the federating units of country. Due to an ongoing perturbed mechanism of efficiency and distribution, there has been a long-standing debate on the share of resources between the federal government and federating units.1As per the actual division of finances and wealth, the federal government has practical hold in an unjust fiscal transfer to the provinces. -
Social Incidence of Indirect Taxation in Pakistan (1990 – 2001)
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by OpenGrey Repository Social Incidence of Indirect Taxation in Pakistan (1990 – 2001) Saadia Refaqat A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Bath Department of Economics and International Development April 2008 COPYRIGHT Attention is drawn to the fact that copyright of this thesis rests with its author. This copy of the thesis has been supplied on condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with its author and that no quotation from the thesis and no information derived from it may be published without the prior written consent of the author. This thesis may be made available for consultation within the University Library and may be photocopied or lent to other libraries for the purposes of consultation. Singature: ______________________________________________________ I Table of Contents Table of Contents ..........................................................................................II List of Tables ........................................................................................... VI List of Figures .........................................................................................VIII Dedication ........................................................................................... IX Acknowledgments.........................................................................................X Abstract ..........................................................................................XII -
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor
U A Z T m B PEACEWA RKS u E JI Bulunkouxiang Dushanbe[ K [ D K IS ar IS TA TURKMENISTAN ya T N A N Tashkurgan CHINA Khunjerab - - ( ) Ind Gilgit us Sazin R. Raikot aikot l Kabul 1 tro Mansehra 972 Line of Con Herat PeshawarPeshawar Haripur Havelian ( ) Burhan IslamabadIslamabad Rawalpindi AFGHANISTAN ( Gujrat ) Dera Ismail Khan Lahore Kandahar Faisalabad Zhob Qila Saifullah Quetta Multan Dera Ghazi INDIA Khan PAKISTAN . Bahawalpur New Delhi s R du Dera In Surab Allahyar Basima Shahadadkot Shikarpur Existing highway IRAN Nag Rango Khuzdar THESukkur CHINA-PAKISTANOngoing highway project Priority highway project Panjgur ECONOMIC CORRIDORShort-term project Medium and long-term project BARRIERS ANDOther highway IMPACT Hyderabad Gwadar Sonmiani International boundary Bay . R Karachi s Provincial boundary u d n Arif Rafiq I e nal status of Jammu and Kashmir has not been agreed upon Arabian by India and Pakistan. Boundaries Sea and names shown on this map do 0 150 Miles not imply ocial endorsement or 0 200 Kilometers acceptance on the part of the United States Institute of Peace. , ABOUT THE REPORT This report clarifies what the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor actually is, identifies potential barriers to its implementation, and assesses its likely economic, socio- political, and strategic implications. Based on interviews with federal and provincial government officials in Pakistan, subject-matter experts, a diverse spectrum of civil society activists, politicians, and business community leaders, the report is supported by the Asia Center at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP). ABOUT THE AUTHOR Arif Rafiq is president of Vizier Consulting, LLC, a political risk analysis company specializing in the Middle East and South Asia. -
Trade & Investment Guide
HOW TO DO BUSINESS IN PAKISTAN? Trade & Investment Guide TRADE DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY OF PAKISTAN MINISTRY OF COMMERCE December, 2020 Disclaimer This booklet provides basic knowledge to potential investors and exporters. The aim of this guide is to highlight the striking features of Pakistan’s emerging economy, liberal investment regime, export potential, newly amended Companies law (2017), revised Corporate tax legislation and initiatives/incentives introduced by Government of Pakistan for entrepreneurs and exporters. Information and statistics used are correct as of November 2020 and may be subject to change. For detailed and updated information regarding doing business in Pakistan, readers are advised to visit the official site of the concerned authorities. For any query or feedback regarding this document please contact at: Ms. Mehrun-Nisa Research Associate Trade Development Authority of Pakistan [email protected] ~ ii ~ Table of Contents Pakistan: In General .................................................................................. 1 Geography and Connectivity ............................................................................................................................................. 2 Demography ........................................................................................................................................................................... 2 Language ................................................................................................................................................................................ -
Pakistan: Country Snapshot
1 PAKISTAN: COUNTRY SNAPSHOT Update on Programs and Portfolio March 2014 1 PAKISTAN: COUNTRY SNAPSHOT Recent Economic and Sector Develop- so far, the private sector also contributed to this expansion. Nonetheless, by end-January 2014, ments government borrowing from the central bank stood at Rs 431 billion compared to a retirement Growth Performance of Rs 134 billion in the comparable period of FY13. The magnitude of central bank borrowings Pakistan’s economy is weak but at a turning touched Rs 842 billion by end-November 2013, as point. Real GDP growth, at 3.6 percent in FY13, the government shifted from its previous practice was average but might improve this year. The of raising debt mainly from scheduled banks. It is modest growth reached last year was explained only since the policy rate hikes in September and, in part by a marked fall in private investment (8.7 especially November of 2013 that scheduled percent of GDP), the lowest level in two decades. banks’ investment in government paper in- For FY14, GDP growth is recovering and project- creased, thereby allowing government to retire ed to grow by 3.6-4.0 percent, against an official some of the SBP borrowing. target of 4.4 percent. One positive development has been a mild Thus far, growth is being led by the industrial revival of growth in private sector credit. This and service sectors, as agriculture is expected stemmed from credit uptake by businesses (tex- to miss its annual target. An improved industri- tiles, energy, commerce and trade) as well as al sector performance can be attributed to better consumers. -
1 Terms of Reference for a Review of Tax Administration in the Pakistan
ANNEX 2: TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR THE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE WORK Terms of Reference For a Review of Tax Administration in the Pakistan Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) I. Background Pakistan’s tax system has undergone significant reforms over the last two decades, leading to the modernization of direct and indirect taxes. More recent times have seen the rationalization of income tax rates, the introduction of self-assessment for filing income taxes, some expansion of consumption taxes, and the rationalization of the customs tariff structure with a reduction of tariff bands and maximum rates. Currently, the FBR is engaged in a comprehensive plan to re-structure and modernize the entire tax administration and customs operations. In addition, the FBR has taken a number of steps in the recent past to increase the number of taxpayers and broaden tax bases. However, Pakistan’s tax system continues to under-perform in some fundamental ways, in particular in its ability to raise adequate revenues, mainly because the bases of the most important taxes, personal and corporate income taxes and the General Sales Tax (GST), continue to be very narrow and the level of tax evasion remains quite high. In fact, the tax to GDP ratio has declined in recent times. On the other hand, most of the macroeconomic fiscal adjustment in recent years has been on the expenditure side of the budget. Some expenditure items such as defense spending tend to be higher in Pakistan than in other countries, but these are unlikely to change. At the same time, the country’s needs for spending on social services, such as education and health, and capital infrastructure are likely to increase in the near future as the Government pursues a strategy of sustained economic growth. -
Learning from Power Sector Reform
Policy Research Working Paper 8842 Public Disclosure Authorized Learning from Power Sector Reform The Case of Pakistan Public Disclosure Authorized Robert Bacon Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Energy and Extractives Global Practice May 2019 Policy Research Working Paper 8842 Abstract Pakistan’s power sector underwent a substantial, if pro- 2015. Despite these major steps, Pakistan has continued tracted, reform process. Beginning with an independent to suffer from inadequate capacity and other constraints, power producer program in 1994, the full unbundling of leading to large and frequent blackouts. At the heart of the national vertically integrated power and water utility, the impasse is the so-called “circular debt” crisis, whereby the Water and Power Development Authority, and the distribution utilities struggling to collect revenues and meet establishment of a regulatory entity, the National Electric regulatory targets for transmission and distribution losses Power Regulatory Authority, followed in 1997, paving the default on their payments to generators, and the sector way for the eventual privatization of one major distribu- is periodically bailed out by the government once losses tion utility, Karachi Electric, in 2005. Plans to privatize accumulate to intolerable levels, at high cost to the exche- the remaining distribution utilities were shelved following quer. This dynamic has undermined incentives for utilities the controversy surrounding the Karachi Electric transac- to improve their efficiency, while discouraging generators tion. A single buyer model has been in operation since the from investing in new capacity to address supply shortages. sector restructuring, with the Central Power Purchasing In the meantime, little has been done to accelerate access to Agency fully separated from transmission and dispatch (the electricity to the significant share of unserved population National Transmission and Dispatch Company) in June in rural areas.