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KARACHI: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Sindh Assembly on Wednesday expressed strong reservations over the deduction of billions of rupees by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) as at-source withholding tax on bank transactions of provincial autonomous bodies, and decided to raise the matter with the federal government.
Chairing the meeting, PAC Chairman Nisar Ahmed Khuhro said that the practice amounted to an “unjustified recovery” from Sindh, noting that other government departments were exempt from such deductions through Free Tax Numbers (FTNs).
The committee was reviewing audit paras of the human settlement, spatial development and social housing department for 2024 and 2025.
According to the audit, a bank deducted Rs125 million as at-source withholding tax on the department’s transactions on behalf of the FBR. The report observed that the department had failed to obtain an FTN, resulting in an unnecessary financial burden on the public exchequer.
