ISLAMABAD: The Senate’s Standing Committee on Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs on Monday expressed serious reservations over the closure of Karachi-Gwadar Shipping (KGS) service at the Gwadar port.
The issue was referred to the committee by Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani in order to boost the trade potential of the seaport.
The Senate body, under the chairmanship of Senator Farooq Hamid Naek, called the ministries of port and shipping and maritime affairs to brief the committee and chalk out a way forward in this regard.
In his briefing, Customs Operation Member Dr Jawad Agha informed the committee that there were some problems in the connectivity of the optical fibre, which halted the KGS service (Pakistan’s first containerised service) at the Gwadar port.
He said that Pakistan Customs was rolling out its WeBoC services at the Gwadar port, adding that all prerequisites and formalities for WeBoc system have been completed.
He said with the coordination of the Gwadar Port Authority and the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, the matter would be resolved soon.
Meanwhile, the Senate body constituted a five-member sub-committee to finalise the ‘Maternity and Paternity Leave Bill, 2018,’ within 15 days.
While briefing on the simplification of income tax forms, a senior Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) official said the board would introduce automated services in the FBR to ensure ease in the filing procedures.
The committee directed the FBR to give a detailed briefing on the board’s tax filing system in the next meeting.
The committee also sought from the Ministry of Finance the record of job quota for Balochistan.
Senator Musadik Masood Malik, Mushahidullah Khan, Mohsin Aziz, Quratulain Marri, Ghous Muhammad Khan Niazi, Mir Kabir, Muhammad Ahmed Shahi and senior officials of Ministry of Finance and FBR attended the meeting.
