Inquiry into Bajwa family tax record leak ordered

Finance Minister issues immediate inquiry into 'illegal' violation of the Taxpayer Information Protection Act

ISLAMABAD:

The government on Monday ordered an investigation into the leak of legally protected tax information of the family of Chief of the Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has taken serious notice of the illegal and unwarranted leakage of tax information of the family members of General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Chief of Army Staff (COAS), according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance on Monday.

“This is clearly violative of the complete confidentiality of tax information that the law provides”, stated the Finance Ministry.

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“In view of this serious lapse on the part of to-date unknown functionaries the Finance minister has directed the SAPM on Revenue Tariq Mehmood Pasha to personally lead an immediate investigation into the violation of tax law and breach of FBR data, affix responsibility and submit a report within twenty four hours”, according to the Finance Ministry.

Under Section 216 of the Income Tax Ordinance, the FBR and its concerned officials are responsible to protect the confidentiality of the information provided by a taxpayer in discharging the lawful obligation.