KARACHI: It has been made mandatory for banks to provide details of business accounts every month to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), official sources said on Wednesday.
This is the additional information to be submitted by the banks along with details already mandatory for the financial institutions.
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To make the requirement mandatory, Section 165A of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 has amended through Finance (Supplementary) Act, 2022.
A new clause (f) has been inserted to the Section 165A under which the banks shall provide a list of persons containing particulars of their business accounts opened or re-designated during each preceding calendar month.
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The Section 165A of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 deals with furnishing of information by banks:
“(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force including but not limited to the Banking Companies Ordinance, 1962 (LVII of 1962), the Protection of Economic Reforms Act, 1992 (XII of 1992), the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947 (VII of 1947) and the regulations made under the State Bank of Pakistan Act, 1956 (XXXIII of 1956), if any, on the subject every banking company shall make arrangements to provide to the Board in the prescribed form and manner,—
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(a) a list of persons containing particulars of cash withdrawals exceeding fifty thousand Rupees in a day and tax deductions thereon, aggregating to Rupees one million or more during each preceding calendar month;
(b) a list containing particulars of deposits aggregating rupees ten million or more made during the preceding calendar month;
(c) a list of payments made by any person against bills raised in respect of a credit card issued to that person, aggregating to rupees two hundred thousand or more during the preceding calendar month;
(d) a list of persons receiving profit on debt and tax deductions thereon during preceding financial year.
(e) omitted
(2) Each banking company shall also make arrangements to nominate a senior officer at the head office to coordinate with the Board for provision of any information and documents in addition to those listed in sub-section (1), as may be required by the Board.
(3) The banking companies and their officers shall not be liable to any civil, criminal or disciplinary proceedings against them for furnishing information required under this Ordinance.
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(4) Subject to section 216, all information received under this section shall be used only for tax purposes and kept confidential.
Tax experts at PwC A. F. Ferguson & Co. said that the change is in-line with the requirement for declaration of the business bank account under the provisions of section 114A introduced through the Finance Act, 2021 and is a step towards documentation of the economy.
