The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has empowered the newly established Directorate-General of Intelligence and Investigation, Inland Revenue, to interact with other intelligence agencies like Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to thoroughly probe organised financial crimes and fiscal frauds.
Sources told Business Recorder here on Friday that the new intelligence agency of the FBR would be able to obtain data from other intelligence agencies whenever required for probing fiscal frauds, if necessary. Being an intelligence agency of the FBR, the DG of Intelligence and Investigation, IR, can acquire information from banks and effectively interact with other intelligence agencies for exchange of information.
It is comparatively more accessible for the directorate to exchange data with other agencies for probing the financial crimes and fiscal frauds. In cases of organised tax frauds/financial crimes, it is necessary to obtain some important information from other government departments and agencies about the business transactions. For this purpose, the directorate can acquire information available with other intelligence agencies.
According to sources, the Directorate-General I&I, IR-FBR would be restricted to information gathering, processing, segregation, dissemination and monitoring. The agency would have the authority to conduct preliminary investigation as entrusted by FBR so as to determine the possible loss of revenue potential in cases as maybe identified by the organisation.
It would need discreet information gathering on all tax related issues, non-reporting, under-reporting, tax evasion, connivance between tax evaders and tax collectors, fiscal fraud, and revenue leakages. The agency would have linkages with all major national, provincial and regional databases. The directorate would have the authority for cross matching for the purposes of countering non-reporting and under-reporting. The agency would be empowered to handle complaints referred by the FBR Chairman (under FBR Act).
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