Islamabad (Staff Report): The interim government has approved an extension of closing date of tax amnesty schemes for the declaration of foreign assets and domestic income and assets till July 31.
According to a press statement issued by the Federal Board of Revenue on Sunday, the federal cabinet approved a summary for promulgation of a Presidential Ordinance to amend the Foreign Assets (Declaration and Repatriation) Act, 2018 and the Voluntary Declaration of Domestic Assets Act to extend the amnesty schemes for offshore and domestic assets.
President Mamnoon Hussain promulgated the ordinance, giving effect to the one-month extension.
The Finance Minister recommended extension of the cut-off date for availing amnesty schemes as there has been an overwhelming demand and response which is on the rise, it said.
The deadline for filing amnesty declarations was June 30, however, during last week a large number of representations have been received from trade bodies, professional associations and the general public for extending the closing date due to the short operational period after clearing legal and procedural challenges.
The extension was also needed to remove ambiguities through clarifications and explanations required to provide certainty to the general public and to ensure effective implementation of the schemes, it added.
In addition, declarants of foreign assets faced problems in the payment of tax on foreign assets and repatriation of liquid assets.
According to the FBR, up till now 51,000 people have benefited from the scheme and the Board has received a payment of Rs65 billion so far.