Board responsible for determining tax status: 'FBR won't declare prospective candidates as defaulters'

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) will not declare any candidate contesting election as tax defaulter, as returning officers are responsible for determining tax status of parliamentarians/candidates on the basis of FBR's 'Guidelines for returning officers (Tax Defaults)' for disqualifying tax defaulters.
Sources told Business Recorder here on Sunday that the role of the FBR is limited to the verification of tax-related information declared in the nomination papers. It is the responsibility of returning officers to declare any contesting candidate as tax defaulter taking into account information submitted by the FBR and tax-related information declared in nomination papers. The final authority is the returning officers for taking decision on the declaration of contesting candidate as tax defaulter. The FBR has issued detailed 'Guidelines for returning officers (Tax Defaults)' to guide the returning officers for declaring the tax status of contesting candidate on the basis of data received by the Board. The FBR has provided the 'Guidelines for returning officers (Tax Defaults)' to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for onward submission to the returning officers.
The FBR will verify three major declarations of contesting candidates, ie, National Tax Number (NTN), statement of assets and liabilities and income tax paid during last three assessment years. The FBR will verify the relevant information declared in the nomination papers and communicate the same to the ECP. On the basis of FBR's verifications, the returning officers would declare any contesting candidate as tax defaulter in view of FBR's 'Guidelines for returning officers (Tax Defaults)'.
Sources said that the responsibility of declaring contesting candidate as tax defaulter is on the returning officers because they would have all information like income generating assets etc of the contesting candidates. The returning officers can also raise questions about the assets and liabilities of the contesting candidates. Therefore, returning officers would have the mandate to declare any contesting candidate as tax defaulter.
Moreover, it is not necessary that every non-National Tax Number (NTN) holder is liable to file return under section 114 of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001. There might be situations where the non-NTN holder contesting candidate is not liable to file return under section 114 of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001. Therefore, keeping in view FBR's 'Guidelines for returning officers (Tax Defaults)', returning officers would take the final decision in this regard.
The FBR will verify three major declarations of contesting candidates, ie, National Tax Number (NTN), statement of assets and liabilities and income tax paid during last three assessment years. The Board would only verify specific tax- related information submitted in the nomination forms. As soon as the contesting candidates would submit the nomination forms to the ECP, one copy would be provided to the FBR. Once the copy was obtained by the FBR, the board would first verify the NTN of the contesting candidates.
Subsequently, the board would also verify statements of assets and liabilities of contesting candidate, his spouse and his dependants. This information could only be verified if the prospective candidate had filed a wealth statement (assets and liabilities). In the absence of a wealth statement, the statement of assets and liabilities in the nomination forms cannot be verified, the sources maintained. In such cases, the FBR will inform the ECP that the statement of assets and liabilities of contesting candidate cannot be verified. The FBR, the sources said, would also verify the declared income tax paid during the last three assessment years
The FBR has implemented a full-fledged strategy at the national level for verification of tax details declared in the nomination papers filed by the contesting candidates taking part in upcoming elections.