ISLAMABAD: A delegation of British Department for International Development (DFID) and Her Majesty Revenue & Customs (HMRC) will hold dialogue with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on future course of action to further strengthen bilateral cooperation.
The DFID is a department of the British government that leads the UK’s work to end extreme poverty, unlocking the potential of girls and women and helping to save lives when humanitarian emergencies hit.
Similarly, HMRC is the UK’s tax authority, responsible for making sure that money is available to fund the UK’s public services and for helping families and individuals with targeted financial support.
In this regard, a high-level delegation comprising tax and revenue departments of the United Kingdom (UK) will visit Pakistan in the first week of March. Both sides through deliberations and discussions will try to seek ways and explore new horizons to further cement the existing cooperation.
Transfer pricing, improvement of internal communication system of FBR and others issues of similar nature will come under discussion in the meetings. The FBR chairman along with head of human resource will lead the FBR side in the negotiations. Tariq Bajwa has directed all departments concerned to finalise the table of contents for talks with the visiting delegates.
In Pakistan, the DFID has a mission to secure constructive Pakistani engagements with international and regional security agendas to support sustainable development, working in a secure, happy and cost-effective environment. DFID funds many organisations who are working to end poverty through open competition.
Being a tax authority, the HMRC is also responsible for income tax, corporation tax, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, insurance premium tax, stamp, land and petroleum revenue tax, environmental tax, climate change and aggregates levy, landfill tax, value added tax (VAT), excise duties, national insurance, tax credits, child benefit, enforcement of the national minimum wage and recovery of student loan repayments.
It is pertinent to note here that last month, the FBR constituted a unit on transfer pricing to identify relevant policy and operational issues faced by the tax authorities in this regard. The unit is being headed by Special Assistant to FBR Chairman Dr Muhammad Iqbal, while Secretary Khalid Jamil, LTU Additional Commissioner Karachi Girghari Mal and LTU Lahore Deputy Commissioner Abdul Jawad are members of the unit.
In September 2014, the FBR and the HMRC signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for improvement in taxation, revenue collection and for exchange of information and cooperation on improvement in taxation and revenue collection.
FBR Chairman Tariq Bajwa and DFID Pakistan Head Richard Montgomery signed the MoU in the presence of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and British High Commissioner Phillip Barton.
The Finance Ministry said that under the MoU, the UK would provide technical assistance to the FBR over the next three years to help build its capacity and improve tax collection to support economic integration, stability and growth. This technical assistance – supported by the DFID – will be provided by the HMRC.
Moreover, on Thursday, the HMRC announced changes to taxation treaties since the date of signing. Therefore, issues pertaining to all the said developments taken place in recent past will come under discussion in the talks between the two sides.
