Karachi, September 28, 2023 – In a significant development, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) successfully recovered a substantial amount of Rs 3 billion from the State Life Insurance Corporation of Pakistan by attaching its bank accounts.
According to official sources, this significant recovery was executed by the Large Taxpayers Office (LTO) Karachi, the FBR’s foremost revenue collection arm, through the attachment of the insurance company’s bank accounts. The recovery was made under the provisions of Section 147 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, which pertains to the payment of advance tax.
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Early in the morning, officials from LTO Karachi arrived at the Habib Bank Limited (HBL) branch situated at the Head Office of State Life Insurance. They promptly froze all of the bank accounts associated with the company to secure the required amount.
In a formal notice served to the bank branch manager, the tax unit emphasized that State Life Insurance had failed to fulfill a payment obligation of Rs 2.95 billion. Consequently, under the provisions of Section 140, the bank was instructed to remit or send the funds to the FBR through a pay order.
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It is worth noting that the FBR had previously issued directives to all tax units, mandating the collection of outstanding dues and other recoveries by September 28, 2023. This measure was taken to ensure the attainment of the tax collection targets for the month and the first quarter of the current fiscal year.
September 28, 2023, marked the last working day of the month. With September 29, 2023, being a public holiday and Saturday being a weekly holiday, the FBR further instructed tax offices to remain operational on Saturday, September 30, 2023, to facilitate taxpayers in making duty and tax payments and filing their income tax returns.
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This recovery is a noteworthy accomplishment for the FBR and underscores the government’s commitment to ensuring the timely collection of revenues essential for the country’s fiscal stability and development initiatives.
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