ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday hinted at an extension in the Asset Declaration Scheme in order to avoid inconvenience caused to citizens by the June 30 deadline.
The prime minister made the remark while interacting with members of the business community on a special PTV News telethon via video link..
Tycoon Aqeel Karim Dedhi asked the premier whether he would consider an extension in the deadline. “I think the number of people interested in the scheme could be much larger if there was some clarification on what the purpose of this is, whether people have to deposit cash by June 30, whether this deadline can be extended by a couple of months. For instance, if you could register first and make the 4 per cent penalty payment, but deposit cash in the bank later?”
Prime Minister Khan noted that although it appeared that leaving things until the last minute was a Pakistani trait, he was “considering it, because there’s a lot of pressure, and lots of people are saying that there is too little time left to register”.
He said he was “discussing with [Federal Board of Revenue Chairman] Shabbar Zaidi and [Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance] Abdul Hafeez Shaikh what process we can adopt that somehow makes it easier for people, so they can register and then after June 30, take advantage of [the scheme]. In the next 48 hours, we will bring a programme,” he said.
