Islamabad: The government plans to convert all prize bonds into registered instruments in a bid to identify money trails – a news source reported. Bonds bearing small monetary denominations, however, will be excluded from this revision.
This measure comes in line with the government’s crackdown on tax evaders and money launderers. It will also allow the authorities concerned to keep a record of investors. The initiative will be completed in a phased manner.
Prime Minister Imran Khan previously approved the conversion of prize bonds worth PKR 100,000. On a similar footing, the authorities concerned are working on the conversion of the PKR 40,000 prize bond.
These registered instruments will be utilised for the purposes of broadening the tax net. This task involves identifying individuals who currently fall outside the tax bracket using data obtained from third-party sources.
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), at present, does have access to this information – in the form of individual bank account and asset details. However, it lacks the analytical tools required to utilise this data effectively.
