- Finance adviser asks FBR to revisit the plan and make it more transparent for the public
ISLAMABAD: Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh on Tuesday deferred the announcement of the new amnesty scheme for more deliberation and assessment.
In a meeting held at the Ministry of Finance to discuss the amnesty scheme, also known as assets declaration scheme, the adviser asked the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to revisit the plan and “make it easier and more transparent for the public”.
According to the ministry officials, the meeting deliberated upon various aspects of the scheme and emphasized the need to make it more simple and implementable. The participants gave their inputs and suggested that since the focus of the proposed scheme is on documentation of the economy, it should be designed to clearly reflect that objective.
The adviser directed FBR to modify and refine the scheme by making it more attractive and persuasive so that the majority of people, who are currently outside the formal economy, could become a part of it. He further ordered the FBR to devise a successful communication strategy to enable the people to easily comprehend the contours of the scheme.
It may be recalled that the Federal Cabinet had earlier directed FBR to carry out consultations with experts of various sectors to make the scheme more inclusive and to reduce its complications.
Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood, Adviser on Institutional Reforms and Austerity Dr Ishrat Hussain, Minister of State for Revenue Hammad Azhar, FBR chairman and experts of business, accounting and banking sectors were also present on the occasion.
