Govt bans non-filers from buying property, vehicles

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has again banned non-filers of tax returns from purchasing property and vehicles, Geo reported.

Addressing the National Assembly, Finance Minister Asad Umar announced that the ban has been re-imposed on non-filers.

“Non-filers still have time, they can pay their returns and become eligible to purchase property and vehicles again,” he said. “Non-filers should be told that the state is not as weak as it appears and has the ‘strength’ to retrieve money from them.”

He clarified that non-filers would be able to purchase motorcycles under 200cc while overseas Pakistanis and those acquiring property through inheritance will be exempted from filing tax returns.

“A campaign against non-filers was initiated a day earlier and 169 big no-filers have been issued notices,” he told the assembly. “A second phase of the campaign will also be launched this week and notices will be sent out to thousands.”

The finance minister further said, “The nation’s money should be spent on the nation and they should come back and take part.”

“We will catch those non-filers who have stashed huge amounts in their bank accounts,” he added.

Criticising the previous government, Umar said, “They are questioning us, who have been power for 40 days, why we cannot complete what they could not do in 40 years.”