ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has received feedback from only 220 out of 3,121 notices sent non-filers of tax returns.
The FBR had identified 3,100 high net-worth individuals who were non-filers of tax returns and issued notices to them in four batches. In the first batch, FBR issued notices to 148 rich people who were non-filers, followed by another 75 notices, 220 notices, respectively.
In the last batch 2, 678 people were served with notices asking them to file returns.
The FBR has also identified 30,000 non-filers of tax returns, though notices have not yet gone out to them. These high-net worth individuals who are non-filers can be identified in the system and are seen purchasing immovable property worth Rs20m and above, as well as vehicles of 1800cc engine size and above, or earning rental income of Rs10m and above.
On top of this, the tax authorities have sought and received information on 152,518 Pakistani nationals with undeclared assets abroad. The information has been received from 28 countries under the OECD tax convention.
According to the tax official, notices are being served to initiate process for recovery of evaded taxes, if any, and also determine whether the assets in question have been acquired from legally generated incomes. The data received was matched with domestic data and identified the tax evaders, the official said.
On bilateral level, according to the data, Pakistan has also obtained information about 4,023 properties held by Pakistanis in United Arab Emirates.
The mapping of the data shows that of the total identified properties only 987 properties were of Pakistani residents. Of these, FBR has issued 648 notices to owners of these properties. The total tax amount raised in these notices is Rs631 million so far.
