ISLAMABAD: Under a newly-signed agreement, Pakistan will have access to theinformation about its nationals’ assets abroad, it emerged on Monday.

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has obtained information regardingimmovable properties owned by Pakistanis in the United Kingdom (UK).

The information has been obtained with the assistance of Organisation forEconomic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and UK tax authorities, saidFBR in a brief statement.

According to the statement, the information was being analysed by the boardfor taking further action, it added.

Pakistan had signed the OECD Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistancein Tax Matters in September 2016, and Multilateral Convention to ImplementTax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Sharing(BEPS) as well as Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on AutomaticExchange of Financial Accounts (MCAA) in June 2017.

Becoming signatory of the OECD convention facilitates internationalcooperation on national tax laws and provides administrative cooperationamong member countries to combat tax evasion.

The government had recently announced amnesty schemes including VoluntaryDeclaration of Domestic Assets Act, 2018 and Foreign Assets (Declarationand Repatriation) Act, 2018 which received unprecedented response.

Over 55,225 declarations have been filed with declared value of foreignassets around Rs577 billion and domestic assets around Rs1192 billion.

The declarants paid around Rs97 billion taxes including Rs36 billion onforeign assets and Rs61 billion on domestic assets, whereas, $40 millionwere repatriated.

The original closing date for filing declarations under the amnesty schemewas June 30, 2018, which has been extended till July 31. – APP