Islamabad: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has expanded its Lifestyle Monitoring Cell to intensify scrutiny of taxpayers whose social media presence indicates a standard of living inconsistent with their declared income.
According to an official notification, seven Regional Lifestyle Monitoring Teams have been formed under the Intelligence and Investigation (I&I) wings of Inland Revenue in Karachi, Hyderabad, Multan, Faisalabad, Lahore, Islamabad, and Peshawar. A total of 36 officers and support staff have been deputed to carry out this exercise.
The initiative aims to collect and analyse open-source intelligence, including data from major social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn, blogs, and public websites. The teams will identify individuals—including influencers, celebrities, businesspersons, and professionals—whose exhibited lifestyles suggest significant financial means but who either fall outside the tax net or have declared disproportionately low incomes.
Under the new standard operating procedures (SOPs), regional teams will first compile reports based on gathered intelligence and then seek formal approval from the Director General I&I Inland Revenue (Islamabad) to cross-check this information against the FBR’s income tax database. This centralized clearance mechanism ensures data security and procedural consistency across all regions.
Once approval is granted, the teams will prepare Preliminary Information Reports (PIROs) for cases that merit further investigation under relevant laws, including the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, the Sales Tax Act, 1990, the Federal Excise Act, 2005, and the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010.
Officials said the move reflects the FBR’s increasing focus on using data analytics and digital intelligence to detect undeclared income and strengthen tax compliance.
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