Ahmed Mukhtar Naqshbandi
ISLAMABAD: The federal government, in a bid to stop money laundering and proxy transactions, has permitted banks to access the asset declarations of civil servants of BS-17 to BS-22.
The new rules of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) obligate public office holders of BS-17 to BS-22 to declare details of assets owned by them and members of their families inside and outside Pakistan to the FBR, while it has also asked the banks to render these details twice a year, on January 31 and July 31.
FBR refuses to share asset details of its officials
The FBR, citing Article 19A, which provides the right to information in matters of public importance only, refused to give any details of the assets of the tax officials. It said that the request regarding assets, prima facie, is not a matter of public importance and said that such information enjoys confidentiality privileges under the law, and therefore, could not be divulged.
According to law experts, sharing information about the assets, income, and expenditures (domestic and abroad) of FBR officials would be in violation of the law.
Section 216(1) of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, debars a public servant to disclose any information that becomes part of the annual return. Violation of Section 216 is a criminal offence for public servants.
