Automatic exchange of tax evaders data from September 1: FBR

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Monday informed the task force constituted by the Prime Minister to repatriate laundered ill-gotten funds that newly installed computer software would ensure the automatic exchange of information about tax evaders with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) from September.

The Prime Minister’s task force for bringing home the proceeds of corruption and non-taxed income has been told to finalize its recommendations by early September.

“The automatic exchange of information will become operational from September 2018 onward, so it can become a tool for bringing back ill-gotten money from abroad,” a top official told The News here on Monday.

FBR spokesman Dr Muhammad Iqbal said the Pakistan Revenue Automation Ltd and the FBR operations team have been assigned to supervise the use of the OECD software programme, so as to ensure secrecy and the smooth automated exchange of information from September 1.

“We cannot commit as to when others will exchange information on automatic basis, as they can start anytime onward from September 2018,” Iqbal told The News.

The official said the Pakistani and Swiss authorities signed a revised avoidance of double taxation agreement during the tenure of last government, but it is yet to be ratified by the Swiss Parliament.

International protocols could not be implemented until that happens, he said. Earlier, a high-powered committee had informed the Supreme Court that the National Accountability Bureau had generated 433 mutual legal assistance requests and received back information pertaining to 152 cases.