ISLAMABAD: Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar strongly defended the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) legal mandate to seek and share bank information with taxpayers, saying such inquiries are fully backed by law and aligned with global anti–money laundering standards.
Responding to a calling-attention notice from Senator Asad Qasim over FBR text messages revealing filers’ bank balances and transactions, Tarar said financial scrutiny is a core component of modern tax administration.
“You cannot say FBR should not ask questions,” he remarked, adding that banks are legally required to provide data and that tax evasion is globally treated as a predicate offence under AML rules.
He stressed that transparency between taxpayers and regulators is essential. “If someone has five crore rupees in their account but hasn’t declared it, and FBR issues a reminder, there should be no objection,” he said.
Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr. Tariq Fazal Chaudhry earlier confirmed that FBR had sent messages to both filers and non-filers where discrepancies were found between declared income and bank records. He cited Section 165A of the Income Tax Ordinance, which empowers banks to share deposit information, along with provisions allowing FBR access to data from FIA, the State Bank, NADRA, and utility companies.
Rejecting claims of privacy violations, he said, “If my account information is sent, it comes only to me. There is no broadcast of anyone’s data.”
Despite the government’s position that the law is unambiguous, the Senate referred the matter to the relevant standing committee for further review given the sensitivities around data protection and taxpayer privacy.
