FBR didn’t capitalise on super tax potential, audit finds

Wire excerpt

• AGP’s report laid before NA, will now be taken up by PAC • Auditors flag irregularities in Discos, petroleum division • NTC serving private clients ‘beyond its mandate’ • Railways ‘encroaching’ 1,500 kanals • Defence Services spent nearly all of Rs2.2tr allocation ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Wedne­sday laid before the National Asse­mbly the report of the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) for the year 2025-26, highlighting massive irregularities across the accounts of various divisions and departments of the federal government, amounting to billions of rupees. The report, finalised under the aegis of AGP Maqbool Ahmad Gondal, spans dozens of entities, from commercial corporations and the tax machinery to the power, telecommunications, railway and social protection sectors. The findings are observations representing the auditors’ position and include departments’ responses presented during Departmental Accounts Committee (DAC) meetings. The report will now be taken up by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the National Assembly. While examining the accounts of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), auditors identified Rs117.8bn in under-realised super tax a…