ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Finance on Wednesday took up bank charges and telecom costs imposed on consumers for mobile banking. Senator Saleem Mandviwalla chaired the committee meeting.
Minister of state for finance and revenue, chairman FBR, presidents of banks along with representatives of telecom companies (Telcos) were also present.
Responding to the public concerns about the additional charges imposed by the banks for the use of mobile banking applications, the chairman of Pakistan Banks Association informed the committee that there were two types of charges, one was mandatory imposed by the State Bank of Pakistan for banking SMS services, while the other was applied for services availed by customers with their consent.
It was further stated that the banking sector was paying approximately Rs25.6 billion to the telecom companies for these services, while generating around Rs18.7 billion annually in return and bearing a loss of Rs6.9 billion.
The committee was also informed that charges by the telecom companies had increased by 88% since 2018. Representatives of telecom companies stated that each cellular provider was charging approximately Rs3.40 per SMS for banking-related messages.
Mandviwalla directed the relevant stakeholders to submit detailed data on the number of customers affected by mandatory SMS banking charges, along with the total number of customers availing themselves of additional SMS services by consent.
Mandviwalla directed that detailed information about the charges each bank was paying to telecom companies be furnished with the committee.
The committee further discussed the failure to pay budget honorarium announced by the finance minister for the medical and PTV staff deputed at the Parliament House during the budget session. The committee chairman recommended that the matter be immediately referred to the finance minister for approval; otherwise, action would be taken for non-compliance.
The matter of salary increments for university faculty members and professors was also taken up. The committee was informed that the university staff had been deprived of salary increase for the past 10 years. The committee termed this situation a clear injustice to the staff.
Minister of state for finance and revenue assured the committee that the matter would be taken up with the relevant authorities and a report would be submitted within 15 days.
The committee also took up the matter raised by the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry regarding the classification of polyurethane (PU) leather. Pakistan Customs briefed the committee that PU material falls under the category of textiles rather than leather, as it contains fabric backing on one side and importer is liable to pay the taxes as per the prescribed category. The representatives of Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry informed the committee that it was a type of leather and not fabric and demanded a fair treatment under the relevant law for the import of leather.
The chairman FBR advised the affected parties to file an appeal with Member Policy, FBR, for further consideration and direction. The committee endorsed the recommendation of chairman FBR.
