ISLAMABAD: With a surge of interest in declaration of foreign and domestic assets, the government has extended the tax amnesty scheme for one month with a cut-off date of July 31, according to a highly placed source in the federal cabinet.

In addition, a federal cabinet meeting also decided to raise prices of petroleum products mainly due to depreciation of the exch­ange rate. The meeting was chaired by caretaker Prime Minister Nasirul Mulk.

Read more: Cabinet sanctions tax amnesty scheme

Price of petrol has been increased by Rs7.54 to 99.50 per litre, while diesel price is up by Rs14 to Rs119.31. Kerosene price has gone up by Rs3.36 to Rs87.70 and light diesel oil rate has gone up by Rs5.92 to Rs80.91 per litre, according to a late-night announcement.

The decision to extend the deadline of the tax amnesty scheme will be officially announced through a presidential ordinance to be issued Sunday morning. No change has been made in the rates. Earlier, there was a proposal to enhance the tax rates in the extended scheme.

Meanwhile, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has received confirmation that approximately Rs100 billion has been deposited in taxes under the scheme till June 30, Dawn has learnt through knowledgeable sources. The figure was shared with the cabinet, the source said.

The sources said FBR Chairman Tariq Pasha was expecting this figure to rise as more funds were still in the pipeline based on payment slips issued. However, no official word was issued till the filing of this story.

Finance Minister Dr Shamshad Akhtar, who was representing Pakistan at the meetings of the Financial Action Task Force in Paris, has returned to Pakistan to take final a decision on the extension.

The scheme, which got off to a lacklustre start, saw a surge of interest since the last hearing by the Supreme Court on June 11.

A senior official of the State Bank of Pakistan told Dawn that people were facing problems in receiving confirmation regarding their payment of dollars on declaration of foreign assets.

Normally the dollar transactions are being cleared in New York. In some cases, half matching with proscribed names in the system can place transactions in due diligence. The clearance of such transactions takes a little longer and in some case three to four days.

According to a SBP official, such transactions will receive confirmation in two to three days.

One of the major demands is to allow payment of taxes for foreign properties through officially registered money exchange companies which is currently not allowed under the scheme.

The amnesty scheme allows people to voluntarily declare domestic as well as foreign assets that had till April 10 been held beyond the tax authorities’ knowledge and reach. It offers varying rates that will be charged on these assets, ranging from two per cent to 5pc, depending on whether it is a domestic or foreign asset, the asset class, and whether or not it is being repatriated to the country.

Published in Dawn, July 1st, 2018