Seven secret foreign currency accounts of Axact identified

KARACHI: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is likely to request the government to suspend the remittances-related provision in the case of Axact in order to question the source of the sender after identifying around seven secret accounts of the company related to foreign currency.
The sources said that about one year back, the Directorate General of Intelligence and Investigation, Karachi, had identified 6-7 accounts of the company but due to restrictions under Section 111 (4), the FBR was unable to take any step.
As the case of fake educational certificates related to Axact appeared in the foreign media earning a bad name for the country, Director General Haroon Tareen issued special instructions to Director Karachi Region Shamsul Hadi to compile all the details related to the company.
The sources said that a team had been constituted in this regard. The record compiled soon after the directives issue revealed that seven accounts with the name of Shoaib Sheikh, the company’s CEO, his spouse, Axact and Bol Network have been maintained at the Standard Chartered Bank, Habib Metropolitan Bank and Soneri Bank.
The sources said that until the Section 111 (4) is applied, the FBR officials cannot ask the source. This section provides that tax officials will not question about the source on remittances sent through official banking channels.
The sources said that since the issue has become a matter of national security and integrity, the Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet can decide and suspend the provision.On April 30, a presidential ordinance was promulgated by amending the Customs Act 1969, Sales Tax 1990 and Income Tax Ordinance 2001 under which the ECC can take a decision in case of national security, emergency and natural disaster.