OECD highlights deficiencies in exchange of information agreement

ISLAMABAD: The OECD’s onsite inspection team has raised some observations regarding deficiencies in implementing the Exchange of Information agreement and asked the Pakistani side to remove them for the continuation of this agreement.

The secrecy about the exchange of information is the hallmark of the agreement so the FBR has been advised by the OECD team to ensure a more foolproof mechanism for implementing the agreement. In some instances in the past the particulars provided under the OECD exchange of information were used for political purposes, provoking the team to raise observations.

Meanwhile, according to the statement issued by the FBR on Monday the Directorate General of International Taxes, Federal Board of Revenue received Global Forum’s (OECD) assessment team at FBR Headquarters in Islamabad. They conducted an on-site visit under the second round of peer review on of the Exchange of Information scheduled from March 13th to March 16th, 2023. The assessment team held meetings with different stakeholders of the review including the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, the State Bank of Pakistan, the Financial Monitoring Unit, authorities under the Trust Act, 2020, etc.

The peer reviews of the Exchange of Information of member jurisdictions are conducted by OECD’s Global Forum on Transparency & Exchange of Information for tax purposes. As a member of the Global Forum, Pakistan is also committed to undergoing these reviews. The final Report of the review will be issued after approval from the peer review group of the global forum, it concluded.