News Detail
Event Title: Senator Saleem Mandviwalla, Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue presiding over a meeting of the committee at Parliament House, Islamabad.
Event Date: 2025-12-03
A meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue was held under the Chairmanship of Senator Saleem Mandviwalla to consider the Money Bill referred by the House to further amend the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 through the Income Tax (Third Amendment) Bill, 2025. The Committee also received briefings on the PayPak payment system and the IMF’s Technical Assistance Report on Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment. The meeting was attended by Senator Farooq Hamid Naek, Senator Shahzaib Durrani, Senator Muhammad Abdul Qadir and Senator Dilawar Khan. Senator Kamran Murtaza participated as the mover of the agenda item, while Senator Zamir Hussain Ghumro attended as a special invitee.
The Standing Committee examined the proposed amendments to the Income Tax Ordinance 2001, [The Income Tax (Third Amendment) Bill, 2025] and passed the draft Bill with necessary modifications. The Committee also discussed Starred Question No. 24 raised by Senator Kamran Murtaza and accepted the submission of the Auditor General of Pakistan that the error identified was a typographical mistake.
The Committee was briefed on the scope, performance, and challenges faced by the Pay Pak payment system, including the factors contributing to its low market share. The Chairman directed the State Bank of Pakistan to provide a detailed update on the implementation status and issues pertaining to Pay Pak, assuring the Committee’s full support. The Pay Pak administration was instructed to launch promotional campaigns through SMS and submit its operational challenges in writing to committee.
The Committee further received a briefing on the recently published IMF Technical Assistance Report, Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment. Members unanimously condemned corruption and recommended strict measures to eradicate this menace from the country. The Committee expressed displeasure over the absence of the Federal Minister for Finance, Secretary Finance, and the Governor State Bank of Pakistan, and directed to ensure their presence in the next meeting to continue deliberations on corruption and formulate a comprehensive strategy to address it.
The Committee unanimously decided that since the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) has been established, therefore, the committee will report back to the House with suggestion that matter may be referred to the Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat being the relevant committee.