ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Finance, Revenue and Privatisation has showed its displeasure over Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Nisar Muhammad not taking action against officials taking bribe from a Korean company in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
The committee met under the chairmanship of Senator Saleem Mandviwalla on Wednesday in which the Benami Transaction (Prohibition) Bill 2016 was discussed.
The FBR chairman informed the committee that benami (nameless) accounts having billions of rupees were operating in the country. He said that the FBR took an initiative to bring this law on the proposal of the Tax Reform Commission, and added that once passed, the tax authority would investigate those who operated benami accounts in the country.
He further stated that benami transaction was an arrangement where property is held by a person (other than in fiduciary capacity) on behalf of another person who has paid for it, or the transaction is made for a property in a fictitious name, or the owner of the property is not aware of or denies knowledge of such ownership.
The committee chairman asked the FBR officials how they could prove the property was ‘fake’. The stakeholders feared that they could be victimised through this law, he said. Upon this, the FBR chairman said that if some person transfers property or accounts to the drivers and other employees, the authority could interrogate him to know about his source of income. A lot of benami properties are in the country, and the government could not do anything due to absence of law, he informed the committee.
Senator Mushahidullah Khan said that if one had transferred money to a driver and other staff, “I am expecting the once this law has been approved, the FBR can dig out the benami accounts within two months”.
To this, the FBR chairman said that nobody would transfer property to the driver’s name when the benami law was enacted in the country.
Senator Mohsin Aziz asked the FBR officials about the status of London properties – if it also came under the benami category. On this, the chairman stated that such a property did not come in the domain of benami. Another member of the committee, Senator Talha Mehmood, said that the London property was owned by a Qatari prince, and now the prince had transferred its ownership to a driver. He asked the FBR chairman if he would interrogate the prince about the property.
The FBR chairman did not give any reply to this question; however, he said that the benami bill would apply to the properties purchased in the past. This provision has been inducted on the directives of the National Committee on Finance.
Senator Ilyas Baliour objected to this statement and said that why this provision was included in the bill. “This is wrong; you earlier told that this law will apply to those transactions that were made after commencement of the law.”
The finance secretary stated that all the benami properties could be legalised before applying the law.
Senator Feteh Muhammad Hasni revealed in the committee that people were paying Rs 0.9 million on transferring their ancestors’ properties in their names. “It is strange that if you want to transfer your property than you pay the money.”
Senator Kamil Ali Agha said that provinces were not taking the charges; this was only applicable to Islamabad, and the FBR should end this law. The FBR chairman said that the tax authority could compare the law with provinces, and if there was a need for amendment, it could be made.
The committee chairman, during the proceedings of the committee, said that the FBR’s commissioner and deputy commissioner appointed in Mirpur were taking bribe from a Korean company. “I urged the finance minister, the FBR chairman and other high officials to investigate this matter, but no response has been given in this regard.”
The FBR chairman said he was not aware of the matter. Inland Revenue-Policy Member Rehmatullah Khan Wazir said that although they were FBR officials, once they were deputed in AJK, they come under the administrative control of the AJK government.
However, the FBR chairman assured the committee that corrupt officers would be called back from the AJK to the FBR head office and strict action would be taken against them.
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