Punjab tax authorities, FBR agree on data-sharing

LAHORE:

In order to strengthen their anti-tax evasion efforts, the Federal Board of Revenue and Punjab Excise and Taxation Department have agreed to a data-sharing arrangement.

According to sources, FBR officials will use Punjab Excise Department’s data on vehicle registrations and property tax to ascertain if any owners of luxury vehicles or valuable properties are tax filers or not. The arrangement will allow FBR to see how much tax individuals have paid and detect any ‘benami’ properties, they said.

Punjab tax authorities, meanwhile, will use FBR data to track those evading professional taxes. The department, sources said, expects the data-sharing arrangement will allow it to increase the professional tax net by a 100 per cent.

The department will also request read-only access to FBR’s ‘One Customs’ database. This would enable Punjab tax authorities to ensure online scrutiny and verification of customs documents for newly registered imported vehicles.

Govt mulls options to expand tax net

A formal agreement between FBR and the Punjab Excise Department will be signed at a ceremony in Lahore next week, sources said. Until now, the FBR and Punjab tax authorities had to go through a lengthy formal procedure in order to verify any tax-related record.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Punjab Excise Minister Hafiz Mumtaz said using modern technology would ensure transparency in government affairs. “We have introduced revolutionary technological reforms in the excise department, such as computerising and centralising all data digitally along with procedures for payment, auction and biometric verification,” he said. “Now, this agreement with the FBR should allow both departments to expand their respective tax nets buy utilising each other’s records.”

The Punjab Excise Department, at present, has data on more than 2.1 million property tax payers and 20 million vehicle owners. The FBR database, on the other hand, has information on both the country’s 2.2 million tax return filers and non-filers.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 11^th, 2020.