The government is likely to impose 20 percent income tax on offshore digital services, while it is also considering imposing a 10-year prison sentence on those involved in tax fraud and allowing a junior officer of the Inland Revenue to be arrested without the prior permission of the Commissioner FBR.
However, if the CBI is not satisfied with the arrest, he can order the release of the arrested person, and the Commissioner can take disciplinary action against the officer who makes the arrest without clear and necessary evidence.
According to sources, if the bill is passed, the Inland Revenue officer will also be able to request the Commissioner to put the name of the person under investigation on the ECL to prevent him from fleeing abroad.
The aim of these proposals is to strengthen the FBR and reduce the chances of people involved in tax fraud fleeing abroad.
Government sources said that the authorities are considering introducing further amendments in the Tax Laws Amendment Bill 2024 to make the system of punishments for tax fraud, non-filers and ineligible persons more stringent.
Here, ineligible persons mean such persons who were barred from purchasing houses and cars, now they will also be barred from purchasing agricultural tractors. Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb had presented this bill in the assembly last month, but the bill has not been voted on yet.
The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance will consider these amendments today. Sources say that if the PPP does not object, the government may make a new amendment to the Tax Law Amendment Bill before seeking approval from the National Assembly, which will increase the income tax rate on fees for offshore digital services from 10% to 20%.
For which a new category called “Fees for Offshore Digital Services” will be introduced. A proposal to establish an expert review committee to quickly dispose of tax cases pending in the High Courts is also under consideration, so that tax cases that have been stuck in the courts for a long time can be disposed of quickly.
