NAB causes loss of $4.3m to national exchequer with 'hasty' payment to Broadsheet

• NAB paid $28.7 million fine without deducting withholding tax
  
• FBR sends a notice to NAB for causing a loss to the national exchequer
• According to Income Tax Act, NAB is liable to pay $4.3 million to FBR

ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has caused a hefty loss to the national exchequer after it paid a fine to the Broadsheet LCC without deducting the withholding tax amount.

According to Geo News, NAB made a hasty decision as it paid the $28.7 million fine without deducting $4.3 million in withholding tax.

Reacting to the development, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) sent a notice to NAB for causing a loss to the national exchequer.

Read more: Pursuit of Sharif’s alleged $1 bn ended with disputes over ‘demands’

In the notice, FBR said that before a fine is paid, 15% withholding tax is deducted from the original amount. Now, according to the Income Tax Act, NAB is liable to pay $4.3 million to FBR.

It is pertinent to mention here that former president Pervez Musharraf had hired the UK-based firm Broadsheet LLC in 1999 to track the assets of Nawaz Sharif, Asif Ali Zardari, Benazir Bhutto, and others.

However, NAB terminated the agreement in 2003, following which the firm filed a case against it in UK's arbitration court. The court had ruled against NAB in August 2016 and ordered it to pay the fine.

Read more: $2m to Zafar Ali QC was fee, not bribe, says Broadsheet LLC owner

A few days earlier, several revelations came to light about the Braoadsheet LLC scandal — as its CEO leveled allegations against Pakistani officials — after which the government decided to launch an investigation into the matter.