Banks withdraw litigation on furnishing account holders' info

ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chairman Syed Shabbar Zaidi on Thursday thanked the Pakistan Banks Association (PBA) and the management of all banks for withdrawing their petition against the tax body’s directions for provision of details of their account holders.

“I thank Pakistan Banks’ Association and the management of all the banks for complete cooperation in disposing off long outstanding pending litigation,” he said in a tweet, assuring them of reciprocating the gesture of cooperation and confidence reposed in the FBR.

“We assure on behalf of FBR that we will reciprocate confidence and cooperation extended to us,” he said.

I thank Pakistan Banks’ Association and the management of all the banks for complete cooperation in disposing off long outstanding pending litigation. We assure on behalf of FBR that we will reciprocate confidence and cooperation extended to us.

— Syed Shabbar Zaidi (@ShabarZaidi) December 5, 2019

In a Twitter statement on Nov 29, the FBR chief had said: “On behalf of FBR, I thank Pakistan Bank Association and Presidents of all the banks for agreeing to withdraw pending litigation on the matter of furnishing of certain information.”

“This positivity has been achieved by mutual consultation. A way forward of cooperation has opened.”

His tweet had come in the wake of an agreement reached between the FBR and banks, under which the latter agreed to provide details of their account holders.

The move is aimed to allow the tax authorities to check flow of undocumented money through banking channels.