KARACHI: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is determined to eliminate corrupt practices in the official matters in Inland Revenue and Pakistan Customs and decided to take action against officials taking bribe or financial benefits for giving favor someone.
FBR officials told PkRevenue.com that vigilance teams of tax authorities were observing the day to day affairs of field offices and also examining complaints against tax officials regarding their workings.
In order to effectively check misuse of authority to gain financial benefit, new provisions have been introduced through Finance Act, 2019 in all the relevant statutes to prescribe rules for initiating criminal proceedings against officers and officials of the FBR who deliberately commit acts or fail to act for personal benefits.
Similar action would also be taken against persons who offer bribes or other financial benefits to the tax employees, the sources said.
The laws have been introduced through Section 156A Customs Act, 1969, Section 33A Sales Tax Act, 1990 and Section 216A Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 for taking against corrupt practices of officials.
Under Section 216A of Income Tax Ordinance, Proceedings against authority and persons shall be taken as under.
(1) Subject to section 227, the Board shall prescribe rules for initiating criminal proceedings against any authority mentioned in section 207 and officer of the Directorates General mentioned in Part II and Part III of Chapter XI including any person subordinate to the aforesaid authorities or officers of the
Directorates General who willfully and deliberately commits or omits an act which results in undue benefit or advantage to the authority or the officer or official or to any other person.
(2) Where proceedings under sub-section (1) have been initiated against the authority or officer or official, the Board shall simultaneously intimate the relevant Government agency to initiate criminal proceedings against the person referred to in sub-section (1).
(3) The proceedings under this section shall be without prejudice to any other liability that the authority or officer or official or the person may incur under any other law for the time being in force.
