Vehicles auction: FBR directed to transmit particulars of bidders to Inland Revenue

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Tax Ombudsman has directed the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to devise an electronic system so that particulars of all bidders participating in auctions of vehicles are transmitted to the Inland Revenue field formations for scrutiny of their tax returns.

In an Own Motion investigation, it was observed that various Customs Collectorates and regional offices of the directorate of Customs Intelligence fail at the time of auction of non-duty paid vehicles to properly identify the persons who participate in auctions and do not provide copies of their credentials. The FTO showed apprehension that handing of vehicles to such unknown persons may cause high risk security to the country.

During the initial investigation, the Customs authorities in Quetta also confirmed that no CNIC or other particulars were recorded in the bidders files. The FTO was apprised that CNICs were missing in nine cases while in 23 cases the CNICs numbers were corrected.

It was also reported that 36 non filers have deposited leviable income tax. Similarly, the director of intelligence and investigation Customs, Gwadar, apprised the FTO that despite obtaining relevant credentials of successful bidders, the CNIC numbers of 38 bidders were not recorded. He maintained that the CNICs of successful bidders are duly verified before handing over the auctioned vehicles to them.

The FTO stated that it has been observed that non filers also participate in auctions and offer bids of heavy amounts. However, there is no institutional mechanism to monitor these transactions. Hence, the Federal Board of Revenue has been asked to evolve a mechanism whereby the Customs Department could electronically transmit the information of all the successful bidders to the Inland Revenue Department for initiating necessary proceedings.

The Federal Tax Ombudsman recommended that if the bidders are non-filers, the Inland Revenue Department (IR) should take necessary legal action to bring them under the tax net. The FBR has been given 45 days to comply with the decision and submit a report.