Tax-Base Broadening Plan 2010-11: officials' team visiting cities to bring real estate into tax net

A special team of tax officials headed by Khalid Aziz Banth Member Domestic Operations (North) is visiting different cities in Punjab to enforce the "Broadening of Tax-Base Plan 2010-2011" bringing real estate sector into the tax net with particular focus on sales tax enforcement.
Sources told Business Recorder here on Monday that the FBR tax managers are visiting the key business cities of Punjab to ensure implementation of the existing enforcement provisions of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001, Sales Tax Act, 1990 and Federal Excise Act 2005. The purpose of the visit is to review the progress of the Regional Tax Offices in broadening the tax-base. Secondly, the applicable tax laws must be enforced to bring potential persons into the tax net.
The special team of FBR has convinced the regional officials to enforce the "Broadening of Tax-Base Plan 2010-2011" without accepting pressure from any quarter. Leader of the team Khalid Aziz Banth would pay special attention to areas, which are business hubs with maximum potential of discovering new taxpayers under the exercise.
After visiting the regional tax authorities in Multan, FBR Member Domestic Operations would also visit Faisalabad, Sialkot and Gujranwala besides other cities. The enforcement exercise has already been extended to all provinces where active interaction is taking place between the FBR and the field formations. The similar kind of teams would also visit other provinces for bringing potential persons in the real estate sectors into the tax net.
This is first of its kind of enforcement exercise where Khalid Aziz Banth would personally ensure enforcement of the Income Tax Ordinance and Sales Tax Act on the spot for broadening the tax-base. The new enforcement plan has been implemented to enforce filing of income tax returns from owners of property/assets, promoters/developers of luxurious properties, buyers/sellers of movable/immovable properties and those involved in rental property of luxurious flats/apartments etc.
Under the plan, the FBR has directed the field formations to use all enforcement provisions of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001 and Sales Tax Act 1990 to enforce filing of returns by the persons based on the Board's national strategy to broaden the tax-base.The field formations are making efforts to unearth the persons who were/are liable to be taxed but were/are not filing the returns of income or sales tax returns by flouting the legal provisions.
The present incumbents of Enforcement and Collection Divisions of Inland Revenue have to shoulder this responsibility to maximise the efforts to increase the meaningful population of taxpayers, so that, the tax base is broadened and resultantly substantial amount of revenues are added to the national exchequer, to reduce the budget deficits, sources said.
In every Enforcement and Collection Division of Regional Tax Offices, it would be checked whether the owner of property under reference is existing on tax roll or not? In case, the said person is without National Tax Number (NTN), the Chief Commissioner Inland Revenue (CCIR) will direct Commissioner E&C Division to issue notice under the law/rule and register him on tax roll as per provision of section 181 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 or as per provision of clause (25) of section 2 of the Sales Tax Act, 1990 and relevant rules of STGO, 2000 and shall enforce all the provisions of law (as the case may be) accordingly.