KARACHI: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has started comprehensive investigations of tax details against the persons highlighted by the Panama Papers, it is learnt here.
Sources informed Customs Today that FBR Chairman Nisar Muhammad Khan through a letter has directed the officials of Inland Revenue Services (IRS), Pakistan Customs Services (PCS) and other relevant departments to start working on the details revealed by the Panama Papers.
They informed this scribe that the FBR in first phase would collect all relevant information of the off-shore companies established by the alleged persons, adding that “the FBR will have to collect the income tax and withholding tax details of off-shore companies for last five years.”
The sources further revealed that the FBR could collect the tax details from the year 2010 to onwards, as the law did not permit the board to ask for the tax details more than five years.
It would be a lengthy process, as 259 Pakistanis have been highlighted in Panama Papers so far, they added.
They further asserted that the FBR authorities after getting a complete and comprehensive tax data of political personalities who are involved in off-shore companies would share these details with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
