FBR initiates scrutiny of offshore transactions
KARACHI: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has initiated audit of all those taxpayers who have made offshore transactions during the last six years, sources said on Tuesday.
“All corporate and individual taxpayers, who have made offshore investments, have been selected for audit to check the tax concealment,” an official on the condition of anonymity said.
The FBR has asked the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to provide details of such offshore transfers made by individuals and corporate units during the last six years, the official added.
However, the official was unable to tell the number of cases selected for audit, but said the FBR is going after the foreign assets of resident taxpayers.
The FBR is also obtaining details of local assets of such taxpayers, besides property transactions made by them during the period.
“In this regard, the FBR has obtained property transaction record from the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) and Bahria Town,” the official added.
The sale / purchase of diamond and gold remained unchecked in the past, but for the audit, the FBR is also tracking transactions of those valuables.
“Besides, the currency exchange companies have been asked to provide details of foreign currency purchase by selected corporate entities and individuals,” the official added.
The audit cases have been selected after the scrutiny of high net-worth individuals, the official said, adding that the records provided by the directors and executives of companies were examined carefully and discrepancies in transactions were identified.
Another official at the Large Taxpayers Unit (LTU) Karachi said, in the past, the compliance in return filing by high net-worth individuals was very low as 30 percent were non-filers of 3,200 in the tax year 2015.
However, this ratio has improved, as only 170 such individuals did not file their annual returns for the tax year 2016.
The official said the LTU Karachi has selected around 30 high net-worth individuals for audit on the basis of returns filed for the tax year 2016, where the tax department doubts benami assets and non-payment of super tax.
The LTU Karachi also detected another 30 cases of high net-worth individuals, who had evaded income tax under the garb of agriculture income, which is exempted under the Constitution.
