'FBR played key role in compliance of FATF's action plans'

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has stated that the tax body had played a key role in completing the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) action plans, ARY News reported on Saturday.

In a statement, the FBR said that the tax body played a key role in completing the FATF actions related to Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBP), cash smuggling, investigating tax crimes for money laundering, and confiscating the proceeds of tax crimes.

According to the statement, in the 34 actions of the FATF action plans, FBR directly dealt with at least 8 actions and spearheaded the process of implementation.

In order to ensure compliance with regard to DNFBPs, FBR has issued Anti-Money-laundering/Combating the Financial Terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations, conducted extensive outreach to educate DNFBPs, established a dedicated IT-based DNFBP Management System, launched customized mobile App for registrations and screening purposes, conducted a large number of onsite inspections, and imposed a wide range of penalties for noncompliance.

Similarly, in the area of cash smuggling, FBR Customs has fortified cross-border controls and implemented a comprehensive mechanism to combat cash smuggling, by all means possible.

Moreover, the FBR has also undertaken a large number of money laundering investigations against tax crimes and has also made significant confiscations in this regard.

A day earlier, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) acknowledging the completion of Pakistan’s Action Plans (2018 and 2021) authorized an onsite visit to the country, as a final step to exit from the FATF’s grey list.

However, Pakistan has not been formally removed from the FATF’s grey list. In a statement, the watchdog acknowledged that Pakistan has completed both its action plans, covering 34 items and said this showed the necessary political commitment was in place to sustain implementation and improvement in the future.