The Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Finance has stressed changing or removing the processes and systems that allow corruption, rather than focusing solely on identifying and punishing individuals involved in corrupt practices.
The committee also emphasised making the accounting and financial reporting systems more transparent, modern and effective at its second meeting on Sunday.
However, opposition lawmaker Md Abul Hasnat alleged that the committee was becoming an “ornamental committee” as some ruling-party members were allegedly obstructing efforts to reach decisions.
The meeting was held at the National Parliament Building, chaired by committee Chairman Mushfiqur Rahman.
Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, Chief Whip Md Nurul Islam Moni, committee members and relevant officials attended.
According to committee sources, members stressed reducing reliance on physical contact in government services and introducing digital and automated systems as a way to curb corruption.
Such measures would reduce costs and harassment for businesses, improve the business environment and help increase government revenue, they said.
The committee also discussed strengthening transparency and accountability in accounting and financial reporting, saying this could improve the efficiency and effectiveness of government operations.
A presentation was made on the National Board of Revenue’s capacity to manage government expenditure, measures to narrow the tax-to-GDP gap, and the NBR’s organisational structure and future course of action.
Committee members later discussed the issues presented.
Speaking to journalists after the meeting, opposition member Md Abul Hasnat said the committee was not functioning as effectively as it should.
He said four key issues, including structural reform of the NBR and the tax-to-GDP ratio, were discussed at the meeting.
“Although the finance minister and NBR officials took positive positions on the issues, we could not reach any decision because of a lack of cooperation from some ruling-party members,” he said.
Hasnat said several proposals were also made to reduce harassment of businesses, including creating an integrated digital database linking ports, banks and the NBR.
Other proposals included expanding the tax net, increasing the capacity of the Kamalapur depot and making revenue management more effective.
However, no decision was reached on any of the issues discussed, he added.
