Baghdad – IA
Today, Monday, the Finance Committee in the House of Representatives confirmed the presence of huge funds from customs and taxes that did not enter the state treasury, due to circumvention of the laws and legislation in force, stressing the need for customs exemptions to have an economic return for the state.
A statement issued by the media office of the Chairman of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Atwan Al-Atwani, received by the (INA), stated that “the Parliamentary Finance Committee hosted the customs exemptions audit team formed by the Diwani Order (23037), at the committee’s headquarters inside the House of Representatives.”
Al-Atwani stressed, “The need for customs exemptions to have an economic return for the state, and to be granted on the basis of an economic feasibility study, achieving the public interest, and protecting the local product, and to be limited to the real investor who implements and achieves, and not to be granted to fictitious and lagging projects.”
Al-Atwani told the customs team: “It is the responsibility of all of us to protect public money from the corrupt who try to exploit the state’s tendency to support the private sector to achieve their personal interests by evading customs payments under the guise of implementing investment and charitable projects.”
He stressed, “The Committee’s keenness to increase the outlets for non-oil financial revenues to support the state treasury,” noting that “there is huge amounts of money from customs and taxes that did not enter the state treasury, due to circumventing the laws and legislation in force in terms of customs exemptions that came to support the private sector and encourage investment, and not An outlet for plunder and theft.” The head of the team, Ahmed Salim, provided “a complete briefing on the file of customs exemptions and the shortcomings in the mechanisms for granting them, as well as the measures taken to close the outlets of corruption by implementing the requirements of legal restrictions.”
It was agreed between the Finance Committee and the Customs Affairs team that the latter would present his proposals and recommendations regarding dealing with this file, while the committee would adopt the issuance of binding decisions in a way that prevents wasting public money and ensures the collection of state funds.