PAC to grill A-G, law secy

Jul 24, 2013 |

Age Correspondent

Senior BJP leader M.M. Joshi headed Public Accounts Committee of Parliament is expected to question the Attorney General and the law secretary this week on the issue of the AG’s two “contradictory” opinions on a CAG report which said expenditure on interest payment on tax refunds was in contravention of constitutional provisions.

The PAC, in its internal meeting on July 12, had decided to summon Attorney General G E Vahanvati to explain the two “mutually contradictory opinions” rendered by him on the CAG report.
The PAC has asked the AG G E Vahanvati and Law Secretary B A Agarwal to appear before it on July 26 to explain the contradictions.
Mr Agarwal has been summoned as the PAC had earlier sought Law Ministry’s opinion on the issue. But the ministry referred the matter to the country’s top law officer. The two will be questioned separately by the panel. In his first opinion, the AG had supported CAG’s view that expenditure on interest payment on refund of taxes was in contravention of Constit-utional provisions. But in his revised opinion, he said the Central Board of Direct Taxes was not at fault.

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