To accelerate the recovery of evaded revenue and enhance collection by preventing tax evasion, the National Board of Revenue instructed all field-level tax zones to strengthen the activities of their respective Intelligence and Investigation Cells.
According to a directive issued by the NBR on Sunday, detailed guidelines have been provided on the formation of Intelligence and Investigation teams in each tax zone, their operational procedures, the basis for preparing recommendations, and the approval process by the committee for initiating revenue recovery actions.
The directive also stated that the investigation teams would initiate inquiries based on various types of intelligence reports, allegations of tax evasion, information published in print and electronic media, irregularities such as tampering or overwriting in income tax files and registers, abnormal declarations of tax-exempt income, and inconsistencies between declared taxable income, paid taxes, and the net wealth shown in statements of assets.
If specific information or evidence of tax evasion is found during the investigation, the concerned team would submit a report to the Intelligence and Investigation Committee seeking approval to initiate revenue recovery actions, the directive added.
Upon confirmation of clear evidence of revenue evasion, the respective committee of the tax commissionerate would grant approval to take necessary legal steps to recover the evaded revenue.
The directive also instructed the tax commissionerate to submit detailed information on additional tax demands and collections generated through their Intelligence and Investigation activities to the NBR by the 10th of next month in a prescribed format.
The NBR expressed hope that by strengthening the operations of the Intelligence and Investigation Cells, it would be possible to recover evaded revenues, reduce tendencies of tax evasion, and foster a culture of sound tax compliance across the country.