The Federal Board of Revenue has refused to remove electronic monitoring cameras from four Chinese-owned tile manufacturing units in Pakistan, telling a Senate committee on Wednesday that the sector alone is linked to an estimated Rs30 billion in annual tax evasion.
According to reports, during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue, chaired by Senator Saleem Mandviwalla, FBR Chairman Rashid Mahmood Langrial detailed the scale of alleged tax losses across multiple industries. He said cameras were first installed in the sugar sector, considered politically sensitive, where monitoring identified about Rs76 billion in tax evasion. He said another Rs102 billion was identified in the cement sector, and Rs30 billion in the tiles sector.
Representatives of the Chinese companies, joined by a Pakistani investor, told the committee that 15 cameras installed at their facilities compromised the confidentiality of their production processes.
Langrial clarified that the issue had already been addressed, with the number of cameras reduced from 15 to four, solely to count production. He said the FBR would not remove them, adding that companies uncomfortable with monitoring were free to stop operations.
When a company representative questioned whether tax collection or camera installation was the priority, Langrial responded that cameras were essential to track production and ensure sales tax compliance.
The committee also reviewed a query raised by Senator Kamran Murtaza regarding an alleged Rs375 trillion financial irregularity. Officials clarified that the figure was the result of a typographical error in a consolidated summary, later corrected and verified by the attorney general.
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