The Committee also expressed concern about the recovery of dollar-denominated charges on ATM and VISA card transactions.
ISLAMABAD:
A parliamentary panel has stopped Islamic banks from imposing abayas on their female staff and called for a modest national dress code to be followed for all, regardless of gender.
The Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue, chaired by Senator Saleem Mandviwalla, on Wednesday accepted complaints regarding dress code instructions in certain banks, particularly those carrying out Islamic operations.
Senator Dr Zarqa Suharwardy Taimur informed the committee that female employees were allegedly forced to wear abayas, although there was no such obligation for male staff, who were free to dress as they wished.
Senator Sherry Rehman argued that no employee should be forced to adopt a specific dress code. She commented that a shalwar kameez, like the one worn by former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, was also sufficient for other women, adding that the State had defined the national dress for both sexes.
State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jameel Ahmed said the panel had also issued similar guidelines last year, which had already been conveyed to all banks.
The panel said it had only mandated compliance with a modest dress code and had never required any specific attire. It directed all banks to submit their dress code policies and directed the SBP to circulate updated guidelines to ensure that no employee was subjected to unnecessary coercion.
The committee also expressed concern over the recovery of dollar-denominated charges on VISA card and ATM transactions, as well as SMS alert charges imposed on bank customers.
The committee also addressed issues relating to taxes collected through electricity bills and issues relating to salaries and promotions of Senate employees.
During the meeting, Senator Kamil Ali Agha raised the issue of taxes collected through electricity bills, stating that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) had collected Rs 620 billion through electricity bills and had effectively turned the mechanism into a major source of revenue.
He said the tax burden on electricity consumers is continuously increasing and stated that many people are pushed into severe financial difficulties.
He added that in some cases, a consumer receiving an electricity bill of Rs 13,000 paid almost Rs 7,000 in taxes, while bills of Rs 8,000 included up to Rs 4,000 in taxes.
Responding to concerns, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chairman said the tax collected through electricity bills was mainly sales tax and was in line with international tax practices.
He said the sales tax applied to almost all goods and services consumed by households and electricity consumption was no exception. Langrial informed the committee that a total of Rp476 billion had been collected through electricity bills, including Rp420 billion in sales tax.
He said significant tax breaks on electricity bills had already been provided, but warned that if the tax system was reviewed in the future, additional taxes could also be considered.
The committee also discussed issues related to Senate employee salaries and promotions. The Accountant General of Pakistan informed him that there was a Supreme Court verdict on the matter and that, in the opinion of the Ministry of Justice, the court’s decision could not be violated.
However, Mandviwalla maintained that employees of the Senate and National Assembly were governed by parliamentary laws and not by general government regulations.
He said that parliament had its own laws, which had been recently enacted, and that no institution had the authority to interfere in the internal affairs of the Senate and the National Assembly.
He commented that Parliament had never ordered the salary of a Supreme Court judge to be withheld and therefore the judiciary should also respect the laws enacted by Parliament.
He stated that the courts could not stop the salaries or promotions of Senate and NA employees. The President directed the Accountant General of Pakistan to ensure implementation of parliamentary laws, warning that any non-compliance could be referred to the Privileges Committee.
The committee also reviewed complaints about charges imposed on VISA card and ATM transactions, as well as SMS alert services provided by banks.
Senator Abdul Qadir informed the committee that the bank’s customers were charged between Rs 30 paise and Rs 2.50 per SMS. He claimed that the total amount collected through SMS charges amounted to almost Rs 200 billion annually.
Mandviwalla observed that even customers who did not need SMS alert services were sent messages and charged accordingly. The SBP governor told the committee that SMS charges are not levied by banks but by telecom companies.
Senator Qadir argued that the actual cost of an SMS was around 35 paise and alleged that additional charges were being levied through bundled service agreements.
The panel ordered that SMS alerts be sent only to customers who specifically require the service and that unnecessary messages should not be sent simply to incur additional charges.
The committee also expressed concern about dollar-based charges on ATM and Visa card transactions and requested more details on the matter.
