ISLAMABAD/LAHORE - The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has obtained information about immovable properties owned by the Pakistanis in the United Kingdom with the assistance of Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the UK tax authorities.
The FBR on Monday said that information was being analysed for taking further action. The government has already given a chance to Pakistanis to declare their local and foreign assets by paying nominal taxes under a tax amnesty scheme.
In April, the government had announced two tax amnesty schemes, namely, Foreign Assets (Declaration and Repatriation) Ordinance, 2018 for undisclosed foreign assets and Voluntary Declaration of Domestic Assets Ordinance, 2018 for undisclosed income and domestic assets.
These acts were amended through the presidential ordinances on June 30.
The original closing date for filing declarations under the amnesty scheme was June 30. It has been extended till July 31.
Pakistan would start receiving exchange of information about offshore accounts from OECD nations from September. Currently, there are 104 signatories of the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters.
Reportedly, a total of 56 countries have shown their willingness and officially notified necessary requirement for automatic exchange of information with Pakistan.
In the first phase, which will start from September, Pakistan will exchange information with 35 countries, while in September 2019 another 20 countries will be added to the list of sharing of information.
In 2020, only 1 country will be added to the list for exchange of information. Regarding the 48 other members, most of them has not published their intention so far regarding sharing of information while some of the member countries have also denied sharing information with Pakistan so far.
Meanwhile, FB Chairperson Rukhsana Yasmin Monday said the response to the amnesty scheme announced at the start of the year was disappointing, and added there will be no extension in deadline for availing the offer.
Addressing FBR employees at the Tax House, Yasmin said that mostly Karachi and Lahore residents availed the scheme and the response from Central and South Punjab was disappointing. Only 55,000 people availed the scheme, she added.
She also held FBR officials responsible for not working hard enough to promote and improve the scheme. "We will take action against those concealing assets now," she added.
The tax amnesty scheme, announced by the PML-N government earlier this year, came into effect on April 10, 2018 and runs till June 30, 2018.
The scheme was cited as an opportunity for people to file their local and foreign assets without facing any consequences. The FBR had warned that holders of undeclared local and foreign assets will face dire consequences if they do not declare assets after expiry of the tax amnesty scheme.