Islamabad-UNS : The Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue,chaired by Senator Saleem Mandviwalla, met today on Thursday, to discuss the anomalies in Financial Budget 2025-26.
The Committee had an extensive discussion on several anomalies in the Financial Budget 2025–26. Members of the Chambers of Commerce briefed the Committee on these anomalies, with specific focus on the clauses granting powers to the FBR to arrest on the basis of suspicion. They warned the Committee about the potential misuse of such clauses for the harassment of the business community.
State Minister for Finance and Revenue, Bilal Azhar Kiyani,said that a circular would be issued soon to clarify the lacunae highlighted by all the Chambers of Commerce.
While discussing software exports over the last 15 years, the Committee recommended the State Bank of Pakistan to submit data with the clear categorization of freelancers share in software exports. The Committee also recommended the non-inclusion of periodical and journal subscriptions in the IT services list.
Furthermore, the Committee was briefed on the AI-based customs system introduced within the Export Facilitation Scheme. Officials informed that the AI system has been introduced to upgrade the existing machine learning model in order to bring efficiency to Pakistan Customs.
Senator Saleem Mandviwalla inquired about the FBR’s plan to introduce AI in Pakistan Customs and its expected benefits for the business sector.
The Committee recommended a detailed briefing on the inclusion of AI in Pakistan Customs, following the models of developed nations, in the upcoming meeting.
