ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has refused to provide general record of sales tax and income tax refunds paid of taxpayers to Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
The FIA has asked FBR for provision of entire record of sales tax and income tax refunds paid in Karachi and Quetta, especially in which heavy amounts are involved. A well-placed source told this scribe here on Thursday that the FBR had rejected plea of FIA, saying that section 216 of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001 barred FBR from making taxpayers record public. The said section says that the FBR is bound to keep general record of the taxpayers as confidential and secret.
“Therefore FBR has refused to share the required record with FIA,” the source added, saying that FBR had expressed inclination to share record of any specific person against whom FIA might have received any compliant regarding fiscal embezzlement or forgery or fudging the figures in sales or income tax refunds.
“FBR categorically told the FIA that even then only required information will be provided and taxpayers record will not be shared anyhow,” the source said
Moreover, the source further said that FBR had also expressed willingness to extend full cooperation with FIA in case of any complaint against tax collectors or employees regarding their any involvement in irregularity. The source further said that FBR on the interpretation of the said section of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001 enjoyed full support from both the government as well as the apex courts.
It is pertinent to mention here that National Accountability Bureau (NAB) also sought information about the members of the parliament hailing from Punjab during previous government and the FBR had taken refuge behind the same section of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001, refused to meet the said demand.
Former FBR chairman Sohail Ahmad also refused to present statement of income tax returns of the former President Pervez Musharraf in the meeting of the National Assembly Public Accounts Committee (PAC) during the last government and he was of the viewpoint that the FBR could present the said statement before the Auditor General of Pakistan on demand.
