Real estate agents, others: FBR to impose penalties if suspicious transactions not reported to FMU

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) will impose sanctions including penalties on real estate agents, jewelers, dealers in precious metals/ stones and accountants, if they failed to report suspicious transactions to the Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU) or conduct customer due diligence.

The FBR has issued Monetary Penalty Recovery Regulations-2023 through an S.R.O. 290 (l) 1 2023 here on Tuesday.

According to the FBR’s notification, the FBR is AML/CFT regulatory authority in respect of its reporting entities, that is to say real estate agents, jewelers, dealers in precious metals and precious stones and accountants who are not the members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan and the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan.

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The FBR will impose sanctions, including monetary and administrative penalties to the extent and in the manners as may be prescribed, upon their respective reporting entity, including its directors and senior management and officers, who violate any requirement in sections 7(l), 7(3) to 7(6) and 7 A to 7H of the said Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010 and any rules or regulations made there under.

The penalty would also be imposed on those who fail to comply with the TFS (targeted financial sanctions) regulations and whereas any person aggrieved by the imposition of sanctions under this clause may prefer an appeal in such manner and within such period to such authority as may be prescribed.

Under the AML Act, every reporting entity shall conduct customer due diligence (CDD) in the prescribed manner. However, penalty would be imposed on real estate agents, jewelers, dealers in precious metals/ stones and accountants, who would be failed to carry out the suspicious transactions.

The FBR being the AML/ CFT regulatory authority in respect of its reporting entities has notified that only the procedure with regard to recovery of the income tax as prescribed in Chapter XVI of the Income Tax Rules,2002, with necessary modifications, including the following, consistent with the provisions of the Anti- Money Laundering Act, 2010 and rules and regulations made there under shall apply for recovery of the monetary and administrative penalties imposed under the AML/CFT Sanctions Rules, 2020 as if therein, FBR added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023