The government continues to face criticism over the issue of regulatory bodies as Senate Standing Committee on Finance has said that regulatory bodies have been made ineffective through their placement under the administrative control of relevant ministries.

Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance, Saleem Mandviwalla, remarked that the government has moved a law to bring another regulatory authority - Public Private Partnership Authority - under the administrative control of the relevant ministry.

The committee was divided on the government's bill to establish Public-Private Partnership Authority and eventually decided to defer the proposed law for further discussion. Some members also questioned whether there was a need of such a regulatory body for all the projects to be implemented under public private partnership.

Senator Mohsin Aziz said Finance Minister Ishaq Dar is also being given the charge of the regulatory authority, while the opponents of the proposed law also argued that too many powers have been given to the relevant ministry. However, those who were in favour of the authority suggested that the law should be approved and adopted with some minor amendments.

At last, the committee decided to delay the approval of the proposed law for further discussion.

The meeting also decided to defer the government's proposed law on Corporate Rehabilitation and stated that it would not consider any bill brought by the government against the private members bill.

The chairman of the committee as well as some members deplored that this has become a routine practice of the government to bring its own bills against those introduced by the members as private members bill and termed it a wrong tradition. The chairman of the committee said that he has already proposed amendment to the rule 70 (1) to bar the government from binging its own bill against a private member bill.

He said his own bill has been under discussion for the last eight months and now the government says it has already been working on such a law that it wants to introduce in the Parliament. The committee as a protest decided to defer the government's bill.

The committee also deferred the agenda item of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Senator Ateeq Sheikh regarding the import of auto parts in the shape of scrap from Japan and reassembling of the same into cars. The officials of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) said that there is a 20 percent duty on import of scrap, adding this can be increased to discourage this practice.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2017