NAB Jurisdiction Shrinks After Inflation-Based Threshold Increase

The National Accountability Bureau is likely to experience a significant reduction in its jurisdiction over corruption-related matters following a legislative amendment that ties its financial threshold to inflation, effectively raising the operative limit to approximately Rs800 million, as reported by The News International.

Previously, NAB was authorised to take cognisance of cases involving a minimum financial impact of Rs500 million. However, amendments introduced to the National Accountability Ordinance 1999 have incorporated an annual indexation mechanism linked to inflation, with effect from July 1, 2022.

Pursuant to the revised framework under Section 5, the Rs500 million threshold is now subject to adjustment in line with inflation data published by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. Officials indicate that cumulative inflation since 2022 has elevated the practical threshold to nearly Rs800 million.

Consequently, cases involving amounts below this adjusted limit may fall outside NAB’s jurisdiction. This development potentially impacts not only future matters but also ongoing investigations, inquiries, and references currently pending before accountability courts.

Despite the legal implications, NAB has yet to release an official position clarifying the extent of the impact resulting from this revised threshold.

It is pertinent to note that NAB had earlier proposed reducing the minimum threshold to Rs300 million to broaden its enforcement scope; however, this proposal did not receive legislative approval.

Instead, policymakers opted for an inflation-linked mechanism, resulting in a progressive increase in the qualifying financial limit over time. No formal rationale has been issued by authorities to explain the basis for this policy shift.