35.
Rectification of mistakes.-- At any time within four years from the date of any order
passed by him, or it, the Commissioner, the Wealth-tax Officer , he Appellate Assistant Commissioner and the Appellate
Tribunal may, on his, or its, own motion rectify any mistake apparent from the record and
shall, within a like period, rectify any such mistake which has been brought to the notice
of the Commissioner, the Wealth-tax Officer , he Appellate
Assistant Commissioner or the Appellate Tribunal, as the case may be, by an assessee:
Provided that no such rectification shall be made which has the effect of enhancing the
assessment unless the assessee has been given a reasonable opportunity of being heard in
the matter.
36. Penalty and prosecution.--(1) Where any person, without reasonable
cause,-
(a) fails to furnish in due time any return mentioned in section 14; or (aa) fails to comply with
the provisions of section 13A or section 13D; or
(b) fails to comply with the requirements of any notice served upon him under sub-section
(2) or sub-section (4) of section 16; or
(c) fails to furnish within the time specified any statement or information which such
person is bound to furnish to the Wealth-tax Officer under section 38; or
(d) conceals his assets or deliberately furnishes inaccurate particulars of his assets or
debts, he shall be punishable-
(i) in the cases referred to in clause (a), clause (aa), clause (b) or clause (c) with imprisonment for a
term which may extend to one year or with fine or with both; and
(ii) in the case referred to in clause (d), with imprisonment for a term which may extend
to five years or with fine or with both.
(2) If a person makes a statement in a verification mentioned in section 14 or section 23 or
section 24 or section 26 which is false, and which he either knows or believes to be
false, or does not believe to be true, he shall be punishable with simple imprisonment
which may extend to one year, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or
with both.
(3) A person shall not be proceeded against for an offence under sub-section (2) except at
the instance of the Commissioner.
(4) The Commissioner may either before or after the institution of proceedings compound
any such offence.
(5)
Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (V of 1898), or
in any other law for the time being in force, an offence punishable under this section
shall be tried exclusively by a special Judge appointed by the Federal Government under
the Pakistan Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1958 (XL of 1958), as if such an offence were an
offence specified in the Schedule to that Act.
(6) A special Judge shall take congnizance of and have jurisdiction to try, and offence
triable under sub-section (5) only upon a complaint in writing made, after complying with
the requirement of sub-section (3), by a Wealth-tax Officer-
(a) who is competent to make assessment under this Act in the case to which the offence
alleged to have been committed relates, and
(b) whose office is situated within the territorial limits of the jurisdiction of such
Special Judge.
(7) Every case relating to an offence triable under sub-section (5) and pending,
immediately before the commencement of the Finance Act, 1973, in any court for trial shall
stand transferred to the Special Judge to whom a complaint in respect of the offence could
have been made under sub- section (6); and a case so transferred to a Special Judge shall
be tried by him as if it were a case in which a complaint had been made in accordance with
sub-section (6) by the competent Wealth-tax Officer.
36A. Liability for prosecution in the case of company, etc.-- Where any
offence referred to in this Act has been committed by a company, or an association of
persons or a body of individuals, whether incorporated or not, or a firm or a Hindu
undivided family, every person who, at the time the offence was committed, was the
principal officer thereof, or was acting, or purporting to act, in such capacity, or a
member of the association of persons or a body of individuals, or a partner in the firm,
or the manager or a male adult member of the family, he shall, notwithstanding anything
contained in any other law for the time being in force, be deemed to be guilty of such
offence and all the provisions of this Act shall apply accordingly.
37. Power to take evidence on oath, etc.--(1) The Commissioner, the Wealth-tax
Officer,the Tax Recovery Officer, the Appellate Assistant
Commissioner and the Appellate Tribunal shall, for the purposes of this Act, have the
same powers as are vested in a court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, when trying
a suit in respect of the following matters, namely:-
(a) enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on oath;
(b) requiring the discovery and production of documents;
(c) receiving evidence on affidavit;
(d) issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses;
and any proceeding before the Commissioner, the Wealth-tax Officer, the Tax Recovery Officer, the
Appellate Assistant Commissioner or the Appellate Tribunal shall be deemed to be a
judicial proceeding within the meaning of sections 193 and 228 of the Pakistan Penal Code.
(2) Where a
person to whom a summon is issued under sub section (1) either to attend to give evidence
or to produce accounts or documents at the place and time specified in such summon, fails
to do so without prejudice to the provisions of any other law for the time being in force,
impose upon him such fine not exceeding one thousand rupees as it thinks fit, and the fine
so imposed may be recovered in the manner provided in Chapter VII.
38. Information, returns and statements.-- Where, for the
purposes of determining the wealth-tax payable by any person, it appears necessary for the
Wealth-tax Officer to obtain any statement or information from any individual, company,
firm, Hindu undivided family or other person, the Wealth Tax Officer may serve a notice
requiring such individual, company, firm, Hindu undivided family or other person, on or
before a date to be therein specified, to furnish such statement or information on the
points specified in the notice, and the individual or the principal officer concerned or
the manager of the Hindu undivided family, as the case may be, shall, notwithstanding
anything in any law to the contrary, be bound to furnish such statement or information to
the Wealth-tax Officer: Provided that no legal practitioner shall be bound to furnish any statement or
information under this section based on any professional communications made to him
otherwise than as permitted by section 126 of the Evidence Act, 1872.
38A.Power of survey.-- Notwithstanding anything contained in any other
provisions of this Act and subject to such directions as may, from time to time, be issued
by the Central Board of Revenue in this behalf, the Commissioner, the Inspecting Assistant
Commissioner, the Wealth-tax Officer or a Wealth-tax Inspector may enter any premises
within the area assigned to him for the purposes of making a survey of properties liable
to tax under this Act and make such enquiries as may be necessary.
38B. Penalty for obstruction.-- Where any person obstructs any
wealth tax authority in the discharge of his functions under this Act, the Commissioner
may impose on such person a penalty not exceeding ten thousand rupees.
40. Computation of period of limitation.-- In computing the
period of limitation prescribed for an appeal under this Act or for an application under
section 27, the day on which the order complained of was made and the time requisite for
obtaining a copy of such order shall be excluded.
41.Service of notice.-- A notice, order or requisition (hereinafter
referred to as 'notice') under this Act may be served on the person therein named either
by post or in the manner provided for service of a summon issued by a court under the Code
of Civil Procedure, 1908 (V of 1908).
(2) Any such notice may be addressed,-
(a) in the case of a firm or a Hindu undivided family, to any member of the firm or to the
manager or any adult male member of family;
(b) in the case of a local authority, a company or an association of persons, to the
principal officer thereof; and
(c) in the case of any other person (not being an individual), to the person who manages
or controls its affairs.
(3) Where partition of any Hindu undivided family has taken place, any such notice may be
served on the person who was the last manager of the family, or if such person is dead, on
all adult male persons who were members of the family immediately before the partition.
(4) Where a firm or other association of persons is dissolved, any such notice may be
served on any person who was a member of the firm or the association, as the case may be,
immediately before such dissolution.
(5) The validity of any notice issued under this Act, or the validity of service of any
such notice, shall not be called in question after the return in response to such notice
has been furnished or compliance thereto has been made.]
42. Prohibition of disclosure of information.-- (1) Subject to
the provisions contained in sub-section (2), the provisions of section 122 and section 150 of the Income Tax
Ordinance, 1979, shall apply to all accounts or in relation to statements, documents,
evidence or affidavits given, produced or obtained in connection with or in the course of
any proceeding under this Act as they apply to or in relation to similar particulars under that Ordinance[ ].
(2) Nothing contained in section 122 and section 150 of the
Income Tax Ordinance, 1979, shall apply to be disclosure of any such particulars as
are referred to in sub-section (1) to any person acting in the execution of this Act or
the Income-tax Act , 1922, or the Income Tax Ordinance, 1979, or the Estate Duty
Act, 1950 or the Gift-tax Act, 1963 where it is necessary or desirable to disclose the
same to him for the purpose of this Act or any of the other Acts aforesaid.
43. Bar of jurisdiction.-- No suit shall lie in any civil court
to set aside or modify any assessment made under this Act, and no prosecution, suit or
other legal proceeding shall lie against any officer of the Government for anything in
good faith done or intended to be done under this Act.
44. Appearance before wealth-tax authorities by authorised
representatives.-- Any assessee who is entitled to or is required to attend before any
wealth-tax authority or the Appellate Tribunal in connection with any proceeding or
inquiry under this Act, except where he is required under this Act to attend in person,
may attend by a person authorised by him in writing in this behalf, being a relative of,
or a person regularly employed by, the assessee or a legal practitioner or a chartered
accountant or any other person having such qualifications as may be prescribed.
Explanation.-- For the purposes of this section-
(a) the expression, "a person regularly employed by the assessee" includes any
officer of a Scheduled Bank with which the assessee maintains a current account or has
other regular dealings;
(b) "chartered accountant" means a chartered accountant as defined in the
Chartered Accountants Ordinance, 1961 (X of 1961).
44A. Officers to assist wealth-tax authorities.-- It
shall be the duty of all officers of the Police, Customs, Central Excise and Provincial
Excise and Taxation Departments to render to the officers and other persons employed in
the execution of this Act such assistance in its execution as may be required of them.
45. Act not to apply in certain cases.--Except for the purposes of section 38, the
provisions of this Act shall not apply to-
(a) a banking company , as defined in the Banking Tribunals Ordinance, 1984;
(b) an insurer within the meaning of the Insurance Act, 1938;
(c) any company established with the object of financing, whether by way of making loans
or advances to, or subscribing to the capital of, private industrial enterprises in
Pakistan, in any case where the Federal Government has made or agreed to make to the company
a special advance for the purpose or has guaranteed or agreed to guarantee the payment of
moneys borrowed by the company from any institution outside Pakistan.
45A. Certain mistakes
not to vitiate assessment, etc.-- No assessment order, notice, warrant or o[her
document made, issued or executed or purporting to be made, issued or executed under this
Act shall be void or otherwise inoperative merely for want of form, or for a mistake,
defect or omission therein, if such want of form, or mistake, defect or omission is not of
a substantial nature prejudicially affecting an assessee.
46. Power to make rules.-- (1) The Board may, by notification in
the official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act.
(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, rules
made under this section may provide for--
(a) the manner in which the market value of any asset may be determined;
(b) the form in which returns under this Act shall be made and the manner in which they
shall be verified;
(c) the form in which appeals and applications under this Act may be made, and the manner
in which they shall be verified;
(d) the form of any notice of demand under this Act;
(e) the areas for which lists of valuers may be drawn up;
(f) any other matter which has to be, or may be, prescribed for the purposes of this Act.
(3) The powers to make rules conferred by this section shall on the first occasion of the
exercise thereof include the power to give retrospective effect to the rules or any of
them from a date not earlier than the date of commencement of this Act.
