Dar orders FBR, SECP, SBP to initiate inquiry

BahamasLeaks

ISLAMABAD: After receiving instructions from Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has started collecting addresses for sending tax notices to all those owners of offshore companies whose names appeared in the latest BahamasLeaks.

In a statement issued here on Thursday by the finance ministry, the Federal Minister for Finance Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar, in a meeting with Special Assistant to PM on Revenue and the FBR team, gave directions to investigate and take action as per the due process of law against the individuals and companies named in the BahamasLeaks. The same instructions have been issued to the Security Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) by the finance minister.

The minister said that no discrimination against anyone should be made and the probe be started immediately, keeping in view all the legal formalities.

When contacted by this scribe, FBR’s Director General for Intelligence and Investigation (I&I), Inland Revenues (IR), Khawaja Tanvir told The News that they were collecting addresses of all those whose names had appeared in the latest BahamasLeaks and tax notices would be dispatched to them tonight and this process would be completed in the next 24 to 48 hours.

“After receiving instructions from the finance minister, we have started working on it and tax notices will be sent to all those whose names appeared in the latest leaks,” Khawaja Tanvir added.

When asked about the notices already sent to owners of the PanamaLeaks, the DG I&I said that around 50 individuals replied to the FBR out of which 30 had sought an adjournment for getting extra time. “Our investigations are under way as we are scrutinising their details from our own database and the law will take its course,” he added.

However, sources in the FBR said that the tax machinery required certain amendments to the Income Tax law 2001 for empowering them to go beyond the five-year limit for probing those who owned the offshore companies and assets abroad.

At the moment, the FBR cannot open tax cases beyond the five-year period. In order to probe Panama and BahamasLeaks, there should be no time bar of any period where capital flight was used for tax evaded money to get offshore companies and assets at Panama or any other part of the world.

However, without granting full autonomy to the FBR, the possibility of holding a free and fair probe simply seems impossible.

The new tax notices will be dispatched under Section 216 (notice to obtain information or evidence) of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001 to verify the information with the FBR’s database.

The FBR wanted to get the viewpoint of owners of offshore companies. The FBR has asked the persons concerned to explain their position whether they are owners of offshore accounts, source of investment and whether the same has been declared in their income tax returns.

Under Section 216 of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001, the commissioner may, by notice in writing, require any person, whether or not liable for tax under the ordinance to furnish to the commissioner or an authorised officer, any information relevant to any tax levied under this ordinance as specified in the notice; or attend at the time and place designated in the notice for the purpose of being examined on oath by the commissioner or an authorised officer concerning the tax affairs of that person or any other person and, for that purpose, the commissioner or authorised officer may require the person examined to produce any accounts, documents, or computer-stored information in the control of the person.