ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has appointed Member FBR Yousif Hyder Shaikh (Inland Revenue Service/BS-21) as Director General, Directorate General of Immovable Properties, FBR. The FBR has issued a notification on Tuesday in this regard.
The Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) has repeatedly directed the FBR to immediately activate the Directorate General of Immovable Property (DGIP) to remove discrepancies/anomalies in FBR’s valuation tables of immoveable properties issued by the FBR Inland Revenue (Policy) Wing.
The FTO has also directed the FBR to develop a Standing Operating Procedure (SOP) containing suitable methods of valuation of immovable properties.
The FTO has also directed the FBR to forthwith functionalize the Directorate General of Immovable Property established under section 230F through Finance Act, 2018 as the same is non-functional since its establishment. This would provide an appropriate framework for proper valuation of immovable properties.
Sources told Business Recorder that the real estate sector remained a focus of the international donor agencies keeping in view high revenue potential and check manipulation/money laundering in real estate transactions. In November 2018, a new tax authority DGIP was created, which became dysfunctional in 2019. The work of the DGIP was done by the FBR Policy Wing which committed blunders in SROs of the valuation tables of immoveable properties.
The FBR Policy Wing has not hired any professional valuers but allowed its Secretary Inland Revenue (Policy) to notify defective values as communicated by the field formations.
In the past, the FBR had directed the Directorate General of Immovable Property to report to Member (IR-Operations), FBR. The Director General, Directorate General of Immovable Property, was established under Section 230F of Income Tax Ordinance, 2001.
The FBR had assigned officers of the Inland Revenue Service (IRS) for the duties to make operational the directorate of immovable properties. In addition to the mandate assigned through section 230F of Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, Directorate General IMP-IR shall act as FBR’s specialised agency on all matters relating to real estate/immoveable properties. In pursuance of section 230F of Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 (inserted through Finance Act 2018) an IR field formation namely, DG IMP was raised.
The said section also provides definitions for all implied terms and expressions, the scope, operational mechanics and procedural parameters of this newly-created tax authority and above all contains clearly-spelled grievance redressal mechanism for the aggrieved taxpayers, the FBR’s past order added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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