The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) will not initiate proceedings against the legally valid declarations of amnesty scheme of 2019 under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947, Protection of Economic Reforms Act,1992, and the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010 or any rules, notifications or orders made thereunder with respect to assets, income or expenditure declared under the Assets Declaration Act 2019.
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has belatedly issued rules for the declarants of the amnesty scheme of 2019. The availing date of which was June 30, 2019.
The FBR has issued a draft of certain further amendments in the Assets Declaration (Procedure and Conditions) Rules, 2019 through a notification issued here on Tuesday.
Under the draft rules, no declaration shall be declared void unless definite information regarding misrepresentation or suppression of facts is available with the Commissioner Inland Revenue.
The FBR has explained the treatment of assets, income, or expenditure in a declaration. The amount of asset, income, or expenditure in a valid declaration shall not be included in the taxable income of the declarant for any tax year up to and including the tax year 2018 under the Ordinance.
The rules stated that no proceedings under any provision of the Ordinance shall be initiated on the basis of any information relating to an asset, income, or expenditure as at June 30, 2018, or any prior period, provided the declarant files an irrevocable written statement along with plausible documentary evidence to the effect that source to that extent has been declared in the declaration irrespective of the form of the asset or jurisdiction at the date of filing the declaration.
The rules said that the nature and source of asset, income or expenditure shall not be treated as explained and the Commissioner Inland Revenue or his delegate shall be entitled to proceed under section III of the Income Tax Ordinance, on the basis of definite information acquired from any source other than a valid declaration itself, in following cases: Where the value of an asset, income, or expenditure, as at June 30, 2018, as per the definite information is in excess of value as per declaration and where the source of the asset, income or expenditure relates to a person other than the declarant.
The rules said that where action under section 111 of the Ordinance as undertaken in accordance with sub-rule (2) results in invalidation of the declaration then such an action cannot be initiated without prior approval, for reasons to be recorded in writing, of the Chief Commissioner Inland Revenue as defined in clause (lIB) of section 2 of the Ordinance.