NA panel gives MPs clean chit on tax returns

ISLAMABAD: The Special Committee of the National Assembly Friday gave a
clean chit to parliamentarians saying that majority of them had filed their tax returns and it had no mandate to disclose the income tax paid by the parliamentarians under Section 216 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001.
The special committee chairman Omar Ayub Khan presented the report in the National Assembly on Friday.The report said almost all the MNAs had filed their tax returns and the income law prevents the income tax authorities from disclosing the income tax details. The committee recommended that the FBR should improve its website.
Member Inland Revenue Policy of the Federal Board of Revenue Shahid Hussain Asad explained the legal position in the light of observations given by PTI legislator Asad Omar, who was a mover of motion under Rule 244 (b) of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007.
The report aid Member Inland Revenue Policy of the Federal Board of Revenue Shahid Hussain Asad had stated that according to the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, the FBR had legal limitations to disclose the tax details of any citizen.
It was unanimously decided by the committee that the FBR will furnish the names of those members of the National Assembly, who had not filed their tax returns in the last one year.Shahid stated that the FBR had already issued the tax directory of parliamentarians in that regard.
The committee also observed that the Members of the National Assembly had already declared their assets before the returning officers during the general election 2013 and the same were also submitted to the Election Commission.
Chief Income Tax (Policy-11) Federal Board of Revenue said only the members of the National Assembly had not filed their returns.Majority of members of the committee were of the opinion that the committee could not inquire into the tax details of any citizen due to bar contained in Income Tax ordinance, 2001. The report stated that Chief Income Tax (policy-11) FBR Malik Amjad Zubair Tiwana had replied that in terms of Section 216 of the Income Tax ordinance 2001, the FBR could not disclose the details as requested by Asad Umar, a member of the committee.
Omar Ayub Khan, Pervaiz Malik, Rana Muhammad Afzaal Khan, Mian Abdul Manan, Sheikh Rohail Asghar, Asad Umar, Abdul Rashid Godil, Ms Asiya Nasir, Ms Shazia Marri and Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh attended the meeting.