Reward for officials, whistleblowers in tax recovery

Reward for officials, whistleblowers in tax recovery

Section 227A and Section 227B of Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 have laid down procedure for reward to officials of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and whistleblowers in recovery of tax evaded amount.

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) issued the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 updated up to June 30, 2021. The Ordinance incorporated amendments brought through Finance Act, 2021.

Following is the text of Section 227A and Section 227B of Income Tax Ordinance, 2001:

227A. Reward to officers and officials of Inland Revenue.— (1) In cases (i) involving concealment or evasion of income tax and other taxes, cash reward shall, only after realization of part or whole of the taxes involved in such cases, be sanctioned to the officers and officials of Inland Revenue for their meritorious conduct in such cases and (ii) for other meritorious services and to the informer providing credible information leading to such detection.

(2) The Board may, by notification in the official Gazette, prescribe the procedure in this behalf and also specify the apportionment of reward sanctioned under this section for individual performance or to collective welfare of the officers and officials of Inland Revenue.

227B. Reward to whistleblowers.—(1) The Board may sanction reward to whistleblowers in cases of concealment or evasion of income tax, fraud, corruption or misconduct providing credible information leading to such detection of tax.

(2) The Board may, by notification in the official Gazette, prescribe the procedure in this behalf and also specify the apportionment of reward sanctioned under this section for whistleblowers.

(3) The claim for reward by the whistleblower shall be rejected, if—

(a) the information provided is of no value;

(aa) the information is not supported by any evidence;

(b) the Board already had the information;

(c) the information was available in public records; or

(d) no collection of taxes is made from the information provided

from which the Board can pay the reward.

(4) For the purpose of this section, “whistleblower” means a person who reports concealment or evasion of income tax leading to detection or collection of taxes, fraud, corruption or misconduct, to the competent authority having power to take action against the person or an income tax authority committing fraud, corruption, misconduct, or involved in concealment or evasion of taxes.”

Following are the text of Section 227C, Section 227D and Section 227E:

227C. Restriction on purchase of certain assets. [this section has been deleted through Finance Act, 2019]

227D.- Automated impersonal tax regime.- (1) The Board may design an alternate impersonal taxation regime whereby personal interaction will be minimized.

(2) The Board may, by notification in the official Gazette, prescribe the procedure in this behalf.

(3) This section shall be applicable only for low risk and compliant taxpayers as may be prescribed.

227E. E-hearing.— (1) The Board may design and prescribe e-hearing module for the purpose of conducting hearings, granting opportunity of being heard and electronically receiving any information for the purpose of this Ordinance.

(2) The recording of e-hearing proceedings shall be admissible as evidence before any forum or court of law for the purpose of this Ordinance.

(3) The Board may make rules for the purpose of this section.

(Disclaimer: The text of the above section is only for information. Team PkRevenue.com makes all efforts to provide the correct version of the text. However, the team PkRevenue.com is not responsible for any error or omission.)