ISLAMABAD – Accountant General Pakistan Revenue (AGPR) Wednesday informedthe Public Accounts Committee (PAC)’s sub-committee that energy ministryhad dented national exchequer by Rs20.39 billion avoiding the clause ofwindfall levy in the contract with an international oil and gas company.
The AGPR auditors disclosed this while discussing audit paras related toenergy ministry in the meeting of PAC’s sub-committee, held here under thechairmanship of Senator Shibli Faraz and attended by members nationalassembly Naveed Qamar and Shahida Akhtar.
They said the energy ministry had given an undue favour to the gas andpetroleum company – MOL and did not include windfall levy despite theclause was enforced on internal oil production under the petroleum policyof 2012.
Director General Petroleum Concession apprised the committee that twocontracts were signed in 1994 and 1997 for oil production in Tall blockHangu and the clause of windfall levy was not included in those agreements.
To this, the audit officials pointed out that in the lease of MubarakBlock, the oil company was given a benefit by not including windfall levyin the contract.
The director general informed the committee that the summary for amendmentin petroleum policy was sent on May 19, 2016 for approval and subsequently,it was approved in 2017.
On January 3, 2018 the windfall levy was imposed with the approval ofCouncil of Common Interest however, the oil companies approached IslamabadHigh Court for stay order into this matter.
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The audit officials asked the ministry to actively pursue cases in thecourt of law to vacate the stay order and get the decision in their favor.
Committee Member Naveed Qamar directed the officials of the ministry to laythe unapproved supplementary grants before the parliament to avoid auditobjections.
We had received a response to the letter served to the ministry saying thatsupplementary grants of six years would be presented in the Parliament forratification this year, the committee secretary informed the meeting.
The audit officials while briefing the committee about supplementary grantsfor the year 2016-17 also informed the committee that the funds worthRs2.35 billion were lapsed.
Responding to the objection, the official said those grants were releasedby the end of the fiscal year due to which it remained unspent.
