The government has decided to collect data from 145 federal and provincial institutions to increase the tax net. In order to do this, the government will provide real-time data to a total of 145 federal and provincial institutions including all banks, defense housing authorities, housing societies, civil aviation, provincial excise and taxation departments. It has decided to make it mandatory to connect with the system of Federal Board of Revenue for sharing.

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has decided to amend the Income Tax Rules, 2002, for which a draft of the amendments in the Income Tax Rules has been prepared and released for suggestions and comments from stakeholders. And the stakeholders have been asked to send their comments and suggestions within 7 days, comments and suggestions received after the stipulated period will not be accepted and the amended rules will be implemented through gazette notification.

In the proposed rules, 145 institutions have been asked to be connected to the real-time data analysis radar and in the ongoing notification of the FBR, banks including federal and provincial departments will also have to be connected with the system and institutions which are not connected with the FBR will be or violate after connection and will not share real-time data, action will be taken against the responsible officers under which they will be fined and punished.

According to media reports, the establishment of the system will provide real-time information from various databases to the tax authorities. The FBR has issued a notification of draft amendments to the Income Tax Laws to establish a real-time system, adding that the FBR will have full access to the databases of various institutions. The proposed amendments to the rules met by FBR have set a target of connecting all institutions with the radar system by January 15, 2024.

 
Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)