FBR Issues AML/CFT Guidelines For Accountants to Comply With FATF Conditions

KARACHI: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has given rules for Accountants identified with Anti-Money Laundering (AML)/Counter Financing of Terrorism (CFT) laws to conform to states of Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

The rules have been arranged mutually by Pakistan's three assigned AML/CFT bosses of bookkeepers in Pakistan, to be specific The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP), the Institute of Cost and Management Accountant of Pakistan (ICMAP) and the FBR.

Accountants are simply dependent upon AML/CFT measures if they give the predetermined exercises or administrations as characterized in the Anti Money Laundering Act (AMLA) Sections 2 (xii) (c) (d).

All Accountants, in this manner, should audit Section 4 in the Guidelines to decide if they offer the predetermined types of assistance, and assuming this is the case, what are the AML/CFT necessities, and how to actualize the prerequisites.

These are additionally disclosed in Sections 5 to 12 of the Guidelines.

The Guidelines are centred around AML/CFT estimates, for example, hazard appraisal, AML/CFT program, CDD, gainful possession, politically uncovered people, directed monetary approvals, Suspicious Transaction Report (STR), Currency Transaction Report (CTR) and record-keeping. Those measures are additionally clarified in the Guidelines.

The rules don't add new administrative necessities upon bookkeepers.

The rules don't address the more extensive criminal lead related to the individuals who occupied with or help or abet those occupied with tax evasion (ML) or psychological oppression financing (TF). Those criminal offences under the AMLA and different laws apply to all people's liable to Pakistan's laws.

Notwithstanding the AMLA, the three primary guidelines alluded to in the Guidelines are:

The Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Financing of Terrorism Regulations for Cost and Management Accountants Reporting Firms (SRB AML/CFT Regulations for Reporting Firms)

The Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Financing of Terrorism Regulations for Chartered Accountants Reporting Firms (SRB AML/CFT Regulations for Reporting Firms)

The Federal Board of Revenue Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Financing of Terrorism Regulations for Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (FBR AML/CFT Regulations for DNFBPs)

AML/CFT Sanction Rules 2020 SRO NO 950(I)/2020 (AML/CFT Sanction Rules)

Both the ICAP and ICMAP, as Self-Regulatory Bodies (SRBs), have been assigned by the Federal Government under AMLA (Section 6A) as AML/CFT administrative specialists.

To evade reiteration and any apparent partiality, and only for the Guidelines, the two expert bodies will be alluded to as "SRBs" and their AML/CFT guidelines altogether alluded to as the "SRB AML/CFT Regulations for Reporting Firms". Aside from the name of the SRB, the two guidelines are indistinguishable.

The FBR AML/CFT Regulations for DNFBPs are fundamentally the same as the SRB AML/CFT Regulations for Reporting Firms. Notwithstanding, they are not indistinguishable regarding numbering and area explicit necessities are covering other DNFBPs that don't matter to (bookkeepers authorized by ICAP and ICMAP). Hence, they have alluded independently in the Guidelines.

The FATF Recommendations of explicit worries to bookkeepers are those covering DNFBPs. DNFBPs incorporate the accompanying:

 Casinos

 Real domain specialists

 Dealers in valuable metals and stones

 Trust and friends specialist co-ops

 Lawyers, legal officials, other free legitimate experts and bookkeepers – when they get ready for or complete exchanges for their client concerning the accompanying exercises:

— purchasing and selling of land;

— overseeing of client cash, protections or different resources;

— the executives of the bank, investment funds or protections accounts;

— association of commitments for the creation, activity or the executives of organizations;

— creation, activity or the executives of legitimate people or courses of action, and purchasing and selling of business elements.

FBR clarifies Accountants as sole specialists, accomplices or utilized experts inside expert firms when they get ready for or do exchanges for their customer concerning the accompanying exercises:

Accountant administrations – when completing money related exchanges for their clients concerning the accompanying exercises:

(I) overseeing, working, purchasing and selling of land, legitimate people and lawful plans and getting ready reports, consequently;

(II) overseeing of customer cash, protections or different resources;

(III) overseeing bank, investment funds or protections accounts; or

(IV) putting together commitments for the creation, activity or the executives of organizations

Trust and friends arrangement administrations – when they do financial exchanges or administrations for a customer concerning the accompanying exercises:

(I) going about as a development specialist of lawful people;

(II) going about as or orchestrating someone else to go about as a chief or secretary of an organization, an accomplice of an association, or a comparable situation corresponding to other legitimate people;

(III) giving an enlisted office, place of work or convenience, correspondence or authoritative location for an organization, an association or some other legitimate individual or game plan;

(IV) going about as or masterminding someone else to go about as a trustee of a trust or playing out the equal capacity for another type of lawful game plan; or

(V) going about as or masterminding someone else to go about as a candidate investor for someone else.

FBR Issues AML/CFT Guidelines For Accountants to Comply With FATF Conditions