FBR detects Rs 265 million tax fraud by bank staff

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has detected a tax fraud involving Rs 265 million in Karachi, where some staff members of a bank fraudulently did not deposited the payments of withholding tax deducted on registration of cars into national exchequer.
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Member Inland Revenue Khawar Khurshid Butt told Business Recorder here on Tuesday that the effective monitoring of withholding tax collection led the Board to detect this tax fraud in Karachi.
On the intervention of President of the bank, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had arrested five staffers of the bank from one branch located in Karachi on their alleged involvement of pocketing Rs 265 million instead of depositing the same into the national kitty.
Khawar Khurshid Butt confirmed, "Yes, the regional tax authorities in Karachi have detected fraud of Rs 265 million as effective monitoring of withholding tax agents have started yielding positive results all over the country." FBR Member said that the FBR also asked the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to deduct the said amount from the concerned bank and provide it to the tax authorities within next two to three days as it was permitted under the law. A provision of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001 empowers the FBR to ask the SBP for transfer the amount from the concerned bank.