Audit officials informed committee that Rs26.4 billion was outstanding under toll tax collections
ISLAMABAD:
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Tuesday flagged massive financial irregularities involving the National Highway Authority (NHA), revealing that Rs26.4 billion in toll tax dues remain unpaid while another Rs16 billion could not be recovered from overloaded trucks, causing significant losses to the national exchequer.
The PAC meeting, chaired by Moeen Amir Pirzada, reviewed audit objections pertaining to the Ministry of Communications for the financial year 2023-24.
National Highway Authority audits
During the session, the committee held a detailed discussion on 15 audit objections related to the NHA.
Audit officials informed the committee that Rs26.4 billion was outstanding against the NHA under toll tax collections.
Responding to the objection, the NHA secretary said the matter had already been taken up with the National Logistics Cell, the Frontier Works Organisation and private contractors, adding that the amount was being utilised against allocations under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).
PAC member Bilal Mandokhail questioned why representatives of the NLC and FWO were not present at the meeting and sought clarity on where accountability would be fixed.
NHA officials replied that the concerned institutions had been invited but failed to attend, prompting Mandokhail to remark that the meeting had not been convened at short notice.
PAC member Hina Rabbani Khar said the issue reflected weak enforcement of the law and termed it alarming that companies failing to honour contractual obligations were being awarded fresh contracts.
Toll tax rates
She asked whether the contracts of companies that failed to clear dues had been cancelled. Committee member Shahida Begum also expressed concern over the continuous increase in toll tax rates.
NHA officials informed the committee that 33 lawyers representing private companies had already approached the courts in connection with the matter. Directing swift resolution, the PAC chairman instructed that the issue be finalised at the earliest.
The committee granted private contractors 60 days to clear their dues, while government-owned companies were given time until June. The chairman warned that legal action would be initiated if payments were not made within the stipulated timeframe.
During the meeting, another major revelation emerged regarding losses caused by overloading on highways. Audit officials said that Rs16 billion could not be recovered from overloaded trucks, resulting in substantial losses to the national treasury.
