The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has deputed a senior official to coordinate with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on the matters linked to it.
In this connection, FBR issued on Wednesday an order that reads: “In supersession of FBR’s earlier orders on the subject (Nomination of Focal Person for NAB), Chief (IMC), FBR (HQ), Islamabad is nominated ex-officio Focal Person/Liaison Officer for all the Wings of FBR to liaise/coordinate with National Accountability Bureau (NAB) regarding matters pertaining to NAB until further orders.
“The official contact number of Chief (IMC), FBR (HQ), Islamabad is 051-9209014.
This issues with the approval of Revenue Secretary/Chairman FBR.”
It is worth mentioning here that the federal government has already stripped NAB of the powers to investigate persons/transactions causing revenue loss on account of taxation matters. NAB has been restrained from taking action against the public office holders giving any advice, report, or opinion during the course of official duty.
Through the National Accountability (Second Amendment) Ordinance 2021, the powers of NAB to investigate the taxation matters have been taken away, as the same would be investigated by competent departments, i.e., FBR and the provincial revenue boards/authorities, provincial excise and taxation departments, and the local authorities, etc.
The provisions of the National Accountability (Second Amendment) Ordinance 2021 are not applicable to the following persons or transactions:
• all matters pertaining to federal, provincial or local taxation, other levies or imports.
• decisions of the federal or provincial cabinet, their committees or sub-committees, Economic Coordination Committee of the cabinet, Council of Common Interests (CCI), National Economic Council (NEC), National Finance Commission (NFC), Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC), or decisions of the boards of any body, body corporate, corporations, authority or financial institutions established by or under the constitution or law and entrusted with policymaking and collective decision making.
• any person or entity who, or transaction in relation thereto, which are not directly or indirectly connected with the holder of a public office.
• procedural lapses in any public or governmental work, project or scheme, unless it is shown that a holder of public office or any other person has been conferred or has received any monetary or other material benefits from that particular public or governmental work, whether directly or indirectly on account of such procedural lapses, which the said recipient was otherwise not entitled to receive.
• an advice, report or opinion rendered or given by a public office holder or any other person in the course of his duty, unless there is sufficient evidence to show that the holder of public office or any other person received or gained any monetary or other material benefits, from that advice, report or opinion.
Source: Pro Pakistani