SC takes major step towards assets abroad: body comprises top officials, tax experts, others

A 12-member committee has been constituted for tracing and retrieving assets held abroad by Pakistani citizens. A three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, on March 20 had desired to constitute a committee for preparing the recommendations for tracing and retrieving assets held by Pakistan in foreign countries.
The committee comprises Tariq Bajwa, Governor State Bank of Pakistan, Arif Ahmed Khan, Secretary Finance Division, Tariq Pasha Chairman Federal Board of Revenue, Khalid Anwar, senior advocate Supreme Court, Dr Ikramul Haq, advocate Supreme Court and partner of Huzaima and Ikram, Syed Shabbar Zaidi, senior partner, AF Ferguson and Co, Mehmood Mandviwalla, barrister at law and senior partner of law firm Mandviwalla and Zafar, Muhammad Waqar Rana, Additional Attorney General, Bashir Ali Muhammad, business leader, Tariq Paracha, business leader, Atif Bajwa, senior banker, and Nisar Muhammad Khan, former chairman FBR. The court said that the committee may co-opt any other member.
The following are proposed terms of references (ToRs) of the committee:
- To conduct a diagnostic analysis and lay out the current landscape related to the outflow of foreign exchange from Pakistan resulting in accumulation of assets abroad by Pakistani citizens.
- To examine existing legal regime and practices (especially related to foreign exchange and taxation), bilateral treaties and multilateral conventions that can be used to stem the unregulated outflow of foreign exchange from Pakistan, trace undeclared assets held abroad by Pakistani citizens ad retrieve such assets, especially the ones generated with the proceeds of crime.
- To study the steps taken by other countries to trace and retrieve assets of their citizens held in foreign countries.
- To suggest administrative actions and measures that can be taken to achieve the objectives mentioned above under the existing legislative regime.
- To identify gaps and limitations in the existing legislative framework and suggest suitable amendments for establishment of a robust regime that is: (a) transparent, unambiguous and does not create undue hardships for law abiding citizens; (b) adequate and effective to enable relevant government agencies and departments to stem the unregulated outflow of foreign exchange from Pakistan in future and trace the undeclared assets held abroad by Pakistani citizens.
- To suggest a suitable mechanism to incentivize Pakistani citizens to voluntarily declare their assets held abroad and bring them back to Pakistan after paying suitable amount of taxes if they intend to keep such assets abroad so that they could contribute to national exchequer.
The Chief Justice on February 1, 2018 had taken a suo motu notice of foreign bank accounts held by Pakistani citizens on the reports that people in positions of power have been looting money and transferring it to foreign countries.
In the last hearing, Governor SBP Tariq Bajwa said that they have bilateral and multilateral relations with many countries, but to get information about those people who have bank accounts abroad, they have to provide specific information to the countries where their money is lying.
He said foreign countries require proof that criminal proceeding against the persons whose money is abroad is going on in their own country, adding if there is conviction then it is of great help to bring money back.
In the Panama Papers, 440 persons' names were mentioned but out of them the FBR is unable to trace out addresses of 78 persons.