The National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance approved a softened version of the Tax Laws (Amendment) Bill 2024, which proposes restrictions on asset purchases exceeding Rs10 million without proof of taxable income by individuals lacking verifiable income, but linked its final passage to the approval of the Finance Bill 2025, The Express Tribune reported.
Chaired by PPPP MNA Syed Naveed Qamar, the committee directed that the amended bill be incorporated into the next federal budget. This marks a departure from past practice, as recent changes in parliamentary rules now allow the committee to examine taxation proposals as part of the budget process.
The revised legislation differs substantially from the original draft introduced by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), notably by exempting a wide segment of the population. It expands the definition of “eligible persons” and broadens the list of permissible assets that can be cited to justify purchases of property, vehicles, and securities. The amendment also permits the use of family members’ declared assets and includes gold, stocks, bonds, receivables, and barter transactions as valid sources of wealth.
The committee’s decision followed recommendations from a sub-committee, with PTI MNA Usama Mela and MNA Jawed Hanif playing key roles in shaping the revised draft. Under the modified Section 114C, the law will only take effect once the federal government notifies the value thresholds to which it will apply.
The proposed law originally aimed to prevent non-filers and individuals without sufficient declared resources from purchasing high-value assets. Buyers would have been required to justify transactions with declared income or file a separate wealth disclosure.
While the FBR still retains authority to verify annual income and wealth statements, it has yet to implement a technological system for real-time asset validation at the time of purchase.
According to the news report, the updated bill exempts first-time buyers and lower- to middle-income individuals acquiring primary residential properties. It also replaces the terms “son” and “daughter” with “dependent children” in defining immediate family members and excludes non-resident Pakistanis and listed companies from additional disclosure requirements.
Despite these revisions, some committee members have expressed concern that such broad exemptions could undermine efforts toward financial transparency.
MNA Jawed Hanif had earlier warned that excluding 95% of potential buyers from the law’s scope may prevent meaningful documentation of the economy.
