Banks agreed on sharing account holder details

By Admin -
Account Holder details will be shared to Tax Authorities
Banks have now agreed on sharing of their account holders details to tax authorities.

An agreement was reached at meeting between Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Syed Shabbar Zaidi and chief executives of commercial banks on November 27, 2019, at the Large Taxpayers Unit (LTU) Karachi.

“The PBA (Pakistan Banks Association) has agreed to withdraw its petitions from the high courts and also agreed to provide account holders information under section 165A (of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001),” a source said. “It would enable the tax department to access real-time information of transactions made through the banking system.”

Sources said banks have agreed to withdraw their petitions by next week. Section 165A was introduced to the main statute through Finance Act, 2013 but the implementation remained in litigation before the higher courts since then. Under Section 165A, banks are responsible to provide details of financial transactions made by their account holders to FBR.

Sources said FBR chairman, at the meeting, said section 165A was amended in 2014, 2018 and recently through Supplementary Finance Amendment Act, 2019 on PBA’s recommendations.

“Therefore, the PBA and its members should not have any objection on the implementation of section 165A of Income Tax Ordinance, 2001,” Zaidi was quoted as saying.

As per law, the banks are bound to provide details of account holders. Those details included a list of persons making a cash withdrawal of Rs50,000/day or over Rs1 million/month; deposits of Rs10 million/month; credit card payment of Rs250,000/month; and details of persons receiving profit on debt above Rs500,000/year.

The laws in Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 have superseded other laws, including Banking Companies Ordinance, 1962; the Protection of Economic Reforms Act, 1992; and Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947, yet the banks were not providing the details on one pretext or the other.

It is worth noting that the government has also made arrangements to streamline laws to access bank deposits for identifying financial transactions.

Prime Minister Imran Khan in a meeting held last month had directed the ministry of law and justice and State Bank of Pakistan to propose necessary amendments in bank laws and regulations for ensuring real-time data sharing of financial transactions with FBR.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

At least 11 dead, others injured after train catches fire near Rahim Yar Khan

By Admin -
Image
At least 11 passengers lost their lives and 30 others sustained burn injuries when three carriages of a Tezgam Express caught fire due to explosion in a gas stove, according to initial reports. Meanwhile, firefighters have initiated a rescue operation to extinguish the fire and other passengers are being evacuated from the train to safe places. The affected carriages are being separated from the train. The train, Tezgam, was on its way from Karachi to Rawalpindi, when a gas cylinder carried by a passenger exploded, leaving several dead and injured. The fire was caused by the explosion in a gas cylinder, confirmed the Pakistan Railways official. According to details, the passengers were cooking breakfast when the gas cylinder exploded. After the blast, the raging fire engulfed two other coaches as well. Fire fighters were still extinguishing the fire as per last reports.
Read more

Three soldiers martyred in terrorist attack on checkpost in Balochistan’s Zarghoon

By -
Image
As many as three soldiers embraced martyrdom and one terrorist was killed in an exchange of fire between security forces and terrorists in Zarghun, the area of Balochistan on Saturday. According to the military’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), an operation was launched in the area against suspected terrorists who attacked a security post. “Troops on the post retaliated readily to the fire raid thereby, pushing back the terrorists,” stated the military’s media wing. In the ensuing exchange of fire, three soldiers were martyred while one terrorist was also killed. The military identified the martyred soldiers as Sepoy Zaheer Ahmed, Sepoy Mudassir Shaheed and Lance Naik Abdul Qadeer. The ISPR stated that the post had recently been established to “check extortion efforts targeting coal mines in the area”. “Based on follow-up ISR effort, likely hideout of fleeing terrorists has been identified in nearby mountains and a deliberate blocking and sanitisation op...
Read more

Legal process to try May 9 planners, perpetrators under army act begins: COAS

By -
Image
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir has said that the legal process of trial against planners, instigators, abettors and perpetrators involved in the May 9 mayhem has commenced under Pakistan Army Act and Official Secret Act as per existing and established legal procedures derived from the Constitution. The army chief's statement came as he visited Jinnah House and an army installation in Lahore, which were blatantly attacked and vandalised by “politically motivated” rioters, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a handout. The COAS was also given a briefing on events of May 9 dubbed by the military as ‘Black Day’ — the day when Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters ransacked and torched military installations across the country following the arrest of their leader Imran Khan in a graft case. Addressing the garrison officers and soldiers at Corps Headquarters, Gen Munir emphasised that any action aimed at widening a gulf between people and the milita...
Read more