Bank Accounts: ‘NTN certificate must be compulsory’

KARACHI: The National Tax Number (NTN) should be made compulsory in order to open current/ business bank accounts, proposed Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) President Iftikhar Ahmad Vohra, in order to resolve the issue of withholding tax (WHT) on bank transactions. “No bank account should be opened without the NTN certificate and all existing accountholders may be required to submit NTN certificate issued by the FBR,” he said. He further suggested a threshold to be fixed for turnover in savings accounts, and the NTN to be made compulsory for the turnover exceeding that threshold. Vohra was of the view that once the particulars of accountholders are available to FBR through NTN, it has the required powers under the Income Tax Ordinance as well as other prevailing laws to pursue the registered persons to file tax returns. “It is important to distinguish between non filer and unregistered persons.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 18^th, 2015.

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