ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Thursday constituted a high-level technical committee of National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) and FBR officials for data integration to broaden the tax base.
Sources told Business Recorder that the high-level technical committee would be headed by chairman Nadra. Members of the committee included two senior officials from the Nadra including chief project officer Nadra. Other committee members included chief executive officer (CEO) Pakistan Revenue Automation Limited (PRAL) and two senior FBR officials.
The FBR and the Nadra had agreed to expand collaboration and exchange data to determine the actual income of existing taxpayers, register new taxpayers, and finalise tax profiles of non-filers.
FBR, Nadra agree to exchange taxpayers’ data
Sources said that the FBR and Nadra have again started a consultative process for expanding the tax base. The FBR wanted to utilise all kinds of data for expanding the tax net. The idea is to further strengthen data to register non-filers of income tax returns.
The actual income of existing taxpayers would be determined based on Nadra’s data and new people would be registered for expanding the tax net.
Last year, the FBR had shared the list of 3,500 big profiles of non-filers, prepared by the Nadra, with the FBR Operations Wing for on-ground verification of data. The Nadra had further improved the data and communicated to the FBR for the purpose of broadening the tax base in the past.
Under Section 175B of the Income Tax Ordinance, the Nadra shall, on its own motion or upon application by the board, share its records and any information available or held by it, with the board, for broadening the tax base or carrying out the purposes of the Income Tax Ordinance.
The Nadra may (i) submit proposals and information to the Board with a view to broadening the tax base; (ii) identify in relation to any person, whether a taxpayer or not – (a) income, receipts, assets, properties, liabilities, expenditures, or transactions that have escaped assessment or are under-assessed or have been assessed at a low rate, or have been subjected to excessive relief or refund or have been mis-declared or misclassified under a particular head of income or otherwise; (b) the value of anything mentioned in sub-clause (a) of clause (ii), if such value is at variance with the value notified by the Board or the district authorities, as the case may be, or if no such value has been notified the true or market value; and (iii) enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Board for a secure exchange and utilization of a person’s information.
The board may use and utilise any information communicated to it by the Nadra and forward such information to an income tax authority having jurisdiction in relation to the subject matter regarding the information, who may utilise the information for the purposes of the ordinance.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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