FBR starts scrutiny of Boulton Market victims’ claims

By Muhammad Toori

KARACHI: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has begun scrutinising the claims of victims of the arson attacks in Boulton Market in order to broaden the tax base and to ensure that tax-payers’ money is going into the hands of the victims, FBR officials said on Wednesday.
Earlier, the officials advised the provincial government to restrain from compensating the arson-hit shop owners without ascertaining the validity of the claims. “We advised the provincial government that businessmen who are not paying liabilities to the exchequer should not be compensated,” the FBR officials said.
“We advised the provincial government to verify that the claimants are taxpayers and sales-tax registered,” he added.
The Sindh government was also requested to ask the victims if they had an insurance, stock or inventory balance sheet to claim the losses, he said.
The federal government announced three billion rupees and remitted 1.5 billion rupees to the provincial government for the compensation of the arson-attack victims.
The official further added that the amount was the taxpayer’s property and should not be used to compensate tax evaders.
“If the victims want to receive full compensation, they should at least produce their national tax number (NTN) or sales tax registration,” he said, adding that the government should otherwise disburse a nominal amount as a token of sympathy.
According to the revenue body official, since the process of disbursement has started, the FBR will also assess the claims and validate the data.
The trade bodies in the city said around 4,000 businessmen were affected due to the arson attacks at M A Jinnah Road’s wholesale markets, whereas the provincial government had received only 1,700 claims so far. The Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) former president Siraj Kassem Teli termed the requirement of NTN against the compensation as absurd, adding that the victims should be provided relief immediately.
“The victims should be given a chance and can be brought under the tax net for future assessment after they are compensated for their loss,” he added. However, KCCI acting president Rasheeduddin Rashid said that President Asif Ali Zardari had earlier assured that the FBR would not be given the details of the claims to assess claims. While explaining their reluctance about the FBR’s involvement, he said, “It can be used for some other purposes in establishment and this is the reason for our reluctance.”
Rashid further stated that claims worth four billion rupees were submitted initially, which came down to 1.25 billion rupees after scrutiny. The officials, however, perceived this as an attempt of misguiding the government. Rashid said that a pay order worth 780 million rupees had been received and disbursed so far among 1,400 victims. At least 250 to 300 million rupees still remained to be disbursed among 150 victims who claimed more than 1.5 million rupees in loss. Furthermore, 150 to 200 million rupees will be used for construction purposes, he added.
A bomb exploded the Ashura procession at M A Jinnah Road on December 28, 2009, which claimed 44 lives. Later, some miscreants set ablaze business premises in surrounding areas inflicting a loss of billion of rupees. Initial estimates by different trade bodies revealed that around traders suffered 30 billion rupees in losses in the arson attacks.