Pakistan became a signatory to the OECD Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters after signing the convention. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Secretary General of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Angel Gurria signed the convention in a dignified ceremony here.
The OECD invitation to Pakistan to sign the convention was made possible after a long process of over two years, which included peer reviews and amendments in Pakistani domestic income tax laws to meet the requirements of OECD. It demonstrates Pakistan''''s strong commitment to adopt international best practices in the field of tax matters and join the multilateral fight against tax evasion through mutual, auto and spontaneous exchange of information.
The Convention, which is currently signed by over 80 countries, would facilitate international cooperation on national tax laws and provide administrative cooperation among member countries to combat tax evasion. The finance minister, according to statement issued by the finance ministry, also held a bilateral meeting with the OECD Secretary General to discuss ways and means to further strengthen the existing ties between Pakistan and the OECD.
He conveyed Pakistan''''s desire to become a key OECD partner country. He reaffirmed Pakistan''''s determination to cooperate with the OECD on all important areas of mutual interest. He informed the Secretary General about the various economic and fiscal reforms undertaken by the government to stabilise Pakistan''''s economy, and the increased budgetary support for health and education sectors. He also invited Secretary General to visit Pakistan.
On the occasion, the Secretary General congratulated the finance minister on historic signing of the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matter, and for his central role in economic turnaround in Pakistan in the last three years. He acknowledged that Pakistan has made great strides in economic field, which has deservedly received accolades from international financial institutions. He invited Pakistan to take part in various OECD global fora and meetings.
The OECD is an intergovernmental forum, which focuses on issues including trade, taxation, environment, technology and education. The forum has 35 member countries in Europe, Americas and Asia Pacific. Pakistan, though not a member of the OECD, has been regularly invited to participate in its various committee meetings.
Our reporter adds from ISB According to the details issued by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) here on Thursday, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar signed the Convention on behalf of Pakistan in the presence of Angel Gurría, the Secretary General OECD. After the signing ceremony, bilateral talks were held between the Pakistani delegation headed by the Finance Minister and the OECD officials headed by the Secretary General OECD. In the bilateral talks, the OECD officials appreciated Pakistan''''s rating as ''''Largely Compliant'''' jurisdiction by the Global Forum on transparency and exchange of tax information. The Secretary General also presented the 2nd Peer Review Report on Pakistan to the Finance Minister published by OECD. The OECD had invited Pakistan on 26th July, 2016 to sign the Multilateral Convention after a long and consistent process undertaken by FBR, including peer reviews by the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes and several amendments in the domestic tax laws. The signing of the Multilateral Convention demonstrates Pakistan''''s strong commitment to adopt international best practices in the field of tax matters and exchange of information to combat offshore tax evasion through mutual administrative assistance with other Parties to the Convention. The Multilateral Convention is the most powerful instrument for international tax cooperation. It provides for all forms of administrative assistance in tax matters: exchange of information on request, spontaneous exchange, automatic exchange, tax examinations abroad, simultaneous tax examinations, assistance in tax collection and service of notices and documents, FBR added.
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