Rs1.16bn privilege travel vouchers issued to MNAs

• AGP report shows Rs161m discrepancy between vouchers, expenses.
• Points out issues with internal controls over financial reporting.
• Reconciliation process underway but is time-consuming: official.
  

ISLAMABAD: An audit report has revealed that the National Assembly Secretariat issued privilege travel vouchers worth Rs1.16 billion to MNAs during the financial years 2021-22 to 2023-24, with a discrepancy of Rs161 million between the vouchers issued and the expenditure officially reported.

According to the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) report, the National Assembly management reported an expenditure of one billion rupees on the reimbursement and encashment of privilege travel vouchers during the said period.

However, audit officials observed that the NA Secretariat failed to reconcile the actual expenditure incurred on encashment of these vouchers, reimbursed by the State Bank of Pakistan and booked by the Accountant General Pakistan Revenues (AGPR).

Terming the lapse as "irregular and unauthorised", the report pointed to deficiencies in the internal controls over financial reporting within the National Assembly Secretariat.

The Departmental Accounts Committee (DAC), which was convened on January 31, 2025, directed the NA management to reconcile the figures related to encashment of travel vouchers and furnish the relevant record to the audit authorities.

When approached for an official comment, the National Assembly secretariat was reluctant to offer its comment on the record. However, an official told the publication on condition of anonymity that the reconciliation process is underway but is time-consuming.

The official further added that the majority of the pending reconciliation cases involve MNAs from Sindh and Balochistan.

Originally published in The News