ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) constituted ‘anti-benami zones’ to collect information regarding the undisclosed properties across the country over the directives of the Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The zones will compile a complete database regarding the benami properties and assets with the assistance of provincial revenue authorities, provincial development authorities and Islamabad administration, the FBR spokesperson said on Twitter.
According to the FBR spokesperson said that the concerned officers deputed in the newly-constituted zones were given comprehensive briefing pertains to the benami regulations, as well as special training for spotting and reporting the undisclosed assets.
While detailing the achievement made so far by the revenue board, it is revealed that the FBR’s anti-benami directorate have traced 79 owners of 104 undisclosed properties. The directorate is also scrutinising the benami assets as the 58 properties were spotted in 58, 18 in Lahore, 28 in the federal capital Islamabad.
The board issued notices to the persons involved in purchasing and selling the benami properties. Moreover, the directorate had already seized properties worth up to Rs4 billion including bank accounts, shares and land.
Earlier in the day, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Syed Shabbar Zaidi announced that “a taxpayers’ friendly, easy, simple and effective audit framework” will be launched in the first week of the next month.
In a tweet, he said the purpose of the framework will be to facilitate reasonable taxpayers. “It will be designed to have a paradigm shift in tax culture. Least personal interaction,” he added.
It is noteworthy that the FBR had decided to expand the Invoice Monitoring System (IMS) to big retailers to curb tax theft.
