According to the commerce ministry official, even the Export Marketing Development Fund (EMDF) Board was unable to meet for the last many months because of the lapsed ordinance. As a result, the EMDF is currently being run under previous rules, the official said adding this could also be tantamount to violation of law. - File photo

ISLAMABAD: The Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) has been working without legal cover for the last 21 months after the government failed to bring the authority under the act of parliament, Dawn has learnt.

The government had introduced the ordinance in the form of bill on October 14, 2009 in the parliament to provide legal cover to the authority and since then it has been lying dormant in the National Assembly Standing Committee on Commerce.

The committee chairman, who belongs to the opposition PML (N) when contacted, blamed the government responsible for delay in finalisation of the report of the bill. Meanwhile, President Asif Zardari re-promulgated the ordinance on November 29, 2009.

The authority has continued doing business as usual when its ordinance-ordained life expired in March 2010, which experts say raised serious questions, whether the spending of around Rs2 billion will be in violation of the laws or can be deemed as misappropriations.

How will the authority legalise the spending which it has made during the period ordinance had lapsed.

The ordinance through which the TDAP was established even did not have any provision, which can validate the functioning of the authority during the period in which the ordinance has lapsed. This means that the authority is working completely without legal cover while spending huge amounts from the national kitty.

Former President General Pervez Musharraff had established the TDAP through an ordinance in 2006 replacing the earlier Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) to evolve an effective authority for the promotion of exports in the international market.

Experts say the government made no efforts to legalise the establishment of the TDAP despite the fact the National Assembly remained in session during the period under review.

Besides from this, they say the delay in making the ordinance an act of parliament is also in violation of the Supreme Court of Pakistan judgment on July 29, 2010. As per this judgment, the parliament shall make ordinances an act of parliament in a period of four months.

But an official in the commerce ministry told Dawn that the draft ordinance in the form of bill was lying with the National Assembly Standing Committee on Commerce for approval. This ordinance also seeks structural changes in the existing authority as well.

The incumbent chief executive of the authority Tariq Puri admitted that the spending of the authority did not have any legal cover. He said when the law will be made an act of parliament; the expenses that were already made could be given retrospective effect.

Mr Puri claimed several presentations have been given to the standing committee over the ordinance but the bill has not been moved into the parliament even then.

He said the board, an apex body of the authority also ceased to exist at the movement, which can give approval to the spending.

But the Chairman National Assembly Standing Committee of Commerce MNA Eng. Khuram Dastgir Khan blamed the commerce ministry for their failure to give feedback to the committee on the ordinance. “We have not received a single paper either from the commerce ministry or TDAP, which show their opinion on the proposed law”, he said.

He said the committee already held two meetings on the issue. “We have repeatedly asked the government for their opinion on the ordinance. They have given us assurances to give feedback but it did not materialise so far”, he accused the commerce ministry.

Mr Khuram said the government was unwilling to bring changes in the law of the former military dictator. “This is very strange”, he said.

He added that recently the commerce ministry informed the committee that the ministry has no opinion on the ordinance. The annual budget of the authority, Mr Puri said was around Rs900 million. Of this 50 per cent went into salaries and other expenditures while the remaining was used for the trade promotions.

According to the commerce ministry official, even the Export Marketing Development Fund (EMDF) Board was unable to meet for the last many months because of the lapsed ordinance. As a result, the EMDF is currently being run under previous rules, the official said adding this could also be tantamount to violation of law.