Latest news with #BasharatQureshi
Business Recorder
21-07-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
UAE golden visa issue: FTO irked by FBR's ‘inefficiency'
ISLAMABAD: Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) has taken notice of the issue of Federal Board of Revenue's (FBR) inefficiency to timely seek data from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) about the golden visas issued by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to the resident Pakistanis, making huge investments aboard. After the elapse of more than five years of enabling legislation, the FBR was unable to obtain data from the FIA about the golden visa issued by the UAE to the resident Pakistanis on investment of at least 2.0 million dirhams, equivalent to more than Rs 150 million at the present exchange rate and FTO has taken notice of this inefficiency and has called report from the FBR Member Tax Policy and Director General (DG) International taxes. In this regard, the FTO has issued instructions to the FBR to file comments by July 29, 2025 to the FTO office. Crackdown underway: Pakistan's FIA identifies investors with AED 2m real estate holdings in UAE As per tax experts, section 175A was inserted in the Income Tax Ordinance 2001 through Finance Act 2020 and it required that arrangements shall be made to provide real-time access of information and database to the Board by the FIA as per section 175A(1)(a)/(b) regarding international travel and exit of immigration visa holders. Whereas under sub-section (2), the Board shall make arrangements for that. Moreover, under sub-section (3), until real-time access to information and database is made available, such information and data shall be provided periodically in such form and such manner as may be prescribed. However, after the elapse of more than five years, the Board has failed to do both the statutory duties of real-time data access and periodic statements from FIA. This delay and inaction constitute maladministration, and an informed citizen, Tarik Ahmed, has brought the issue to the attention of FTO, and notices have been issued to file comments by July 29, 2025. When contacted for comments, Basharat Qureshi, a Karachi-based tax expert, explained that the issue has two dimensions: the first is ownership of foreign immovable property and its declaration in the wealth statement and sources thereof. The second issue is whether the foreign exchange was remitted from Pakistan through permissible legal means, and checking of this aspect is the domain of the FIA. Therefore, coordination of FBR and FIA would be required, and thousands of cases can be easily detected where neither the foreign property is declared in the tax declaration, nor the foreign exchange was remitted legally. Basharat was of the opinion that in the tax return, further mandatory attributes can be added, asking for do you hold any foreign passport or resident visa, and basis of the same as naturalization or investment, as thousands of Pakistanis hold a second passport or resident visa on the basis of investment. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Business Recorder
01-05-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Case regarding violations of Rule 150ZEO: Sealing of outlet will harm business entity and economy: ATIR bench
ISLAMABAD: A division bench of the Appellate Tribunal Inland Revenue (ATIR), Islamabad bench, in a landmark judgment, held that the sealing of retail outlet of a taxpayer will cause undue harm to both the business entity and the broader economy, undermining the objective of efficient tax collection in the context of doctrine of proportionality. In a detailed judgment, the ATIR has also discussed the discretionary authority of the court to permit an appellant to withdraw an appeal and the procedural requirements and legal framework governing the sealing of a registered person's business premises for violations of Rule 150ZEO of the Sales Tax Rules, 2006. The judgment has once again been authored by M M Akram, the senior-most judicial member of the ATIR who has earlier authored dozens of judgments on new legal issues. A Karachi-based tax consultant, Basharat Qureshi, when contacted, added that such judicial members of the ATIR selected by the FPSC through a transparent selection process, instead of lateral entry, are a blessing for the taxpayers against the high-handedness of the department and ought to be elevated to the high court to head tax benches. The facts of the case were that the Department received a complaint alleging that the taxpayer issued invoices without QR codes or non-POS invoices worth Rs10359. Based upon these allegations, the CCIR decided to take action to seal of retail outlet. The DCIR prepared a draft sealing order and forwarded the same to the Additional Commissioner and ultimately the Chief Commissioner, LTO, Islamabad, passed the impugned order. The taxpayer filed a direct appeal to ATIR. During the third hearing of appeal, the taxpayer filed an application to withdraw the appeal. The application was not entertained as important legal issues were involved. The ATIR framed two legal questions as under: Q1. Did the impugn decision dated March 07, 2025 to seal the taxpayer's business premises, without issuing a show cause notice or verifying the alleged invoices, contravenes the principle of natural justice and procedural fairness The ATIR in respect of first question held that given the procedural flaws outlined above, it is clear that the action taken by the tax authorities in sealing the business premises violated the principles of natural justice and procedural fairness. The failure to issue a show cause notice and allow the appellant an opportunity to respond constitutes a serious denial of their right to be heard. Additionally, the lack of invoice verification, the unauthorised initiation of the sealing process by an officer lacking the necessary authority, and jurisdictional errors further undermine the validity of the action. These procedural breaches, which are essential to ensuring fairness and justice, render the sealing order unlawful. Q.2 Did the Commissioner's decision to seal the taxpayer's business premises and impose a penalty appropriately reflect the principle of proportionality in relation to the alleged tax evasion? The ATIR observed that the sealing of the business constitutes a highly coercive and severe measure. Such an action may not, in every circumstance, be the most effective means of ensuring compliance with tax obligations. Therefore, it is imperative to consider whether there exist any alternate measures within the statutory framework that are less disruptive yet capable of achieving the desired compliance. In this regard, section 40B of the Sales Tax Act, 1990 provides an alternative mechanism for ensuring tax compliance. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
