FBR initiates investigation into income tax records of lawyers, industrialists

Islamabad: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Wednesday opted to conduct a thorough examination of the income tax records of influential segments within the country, including industrialists and lawyers.

 The decision coincided with ongoing negotiations between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) technical team and the Task Force on tax and FBR reforms.

Collaborating with IMF technical experts, FBR tax officials are actively engaged in comprehensive discussions and analysis based on data obtained from FBR subsidiary PRAL.

It may be mentioned here that a team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) arrived in Pakistan recently to consult on expanding the tax net and enhancing tax revenue. The delegation is expected to propose measures to the FBR for amendments in the tax policy, jointly working on the basic structure to introduce the scheme to retailers.

The IMF executive board is anticipated to approve the staff-level agreement with Pakistan on December 7, providing approximately US$700 million to Pakistan after approval. This will bring the total disbursements under the program to nearly US$1.9 billion.

The sources revealed that the Board intended to scrutinize the income tax records of influential figures associated with major entities such as industrialists, lawyers, and doctors associations.

The investigation involved verifying identity card numbers and mobile numbers of members within these prominent associations.

This income tax probe is geared towards utilizing data from Pakistan Revenue Automation Ltd (PRAL) and the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) for an extensive examination. The objective is to bring the influential segment within the tax net.