Justice Faez Isa’s wife submits reply to FBR

By Ali Imran

ISLAMABAD: The wife of Supreme Court judge Justice Faez Isa on Thursday reached the FBR office in connection with the notice sent to her for explaining the income sources and other related details, as she submitted a detailed response to the officials in that connection, sources said.
Earlier, the FBR had posted a notice at the residence of Justice Faez Isa to appear in person. These developments came as the government replaced former FBR Chairman Nosheen Javed with Javed Ghani last month – a move which some circles say is related to the Justice Faez Isa affair.
These views are fuelled by the fact that the latest appointment has been made for only three months. Nosheen was appointed as FBR chairperson in April this year.Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s wife gives money trail, other documents to tax officials regarding London properties
The wife of Justice Qazi Faez Isa appeared before the tax officials today and provided details of the sources through which she bought London properties. The notices to the judge’s wife were sent last week by FBR’s Commissioner Inland Revenue and International Tax Zone, Islamabad.
According to sources, Zarina Montessarat Carrera Khoso presented all the records of her properties to the tax officials and also explained how and when she had obtained the properties.
She also clarified that she owned the properties and Justice Isa had no link with them. The documents shared with the FBR authorities were the same that were presented before the Supreme Court on June 18. The sources also confirmed that the FBR officials have taken all the documents and asked her over two dozen questions.
Wife of Justice Qazi Faez Isa appeared before the FBR officials in compliance with the order of the Supreme Court. FBR’s authorities, last week, officially relocated jurisdiction of tax office for Justice Isa’s wife from Karachi’s Regional Taxpayer Office (RTO-III) to Islamabad where she could better respond to tax officers’ queries by explaining the source of funds for acquiring offshore properties.
Zulfiqar Ahmed, an IRS officer of BS-20, has been given this task by FBR top authorities to probe the case, a source said, adding, Ahmed also called on Member Operations Dr Ishfaq Ahmed for guidance accordingly.
Zulfiqar Ahmed had served mostly in Karachi where Sarina Isa used to file her returns in Karachi for over a decade. Sarina Isa told the apex court during the proceedings of this case that her tax office Karachi was changed without her consent by FBR authorities years back.
Last month, the apex court dismissed the presidential reference against Justice Qazi Faez Isa after declaring it ‘invalid’ while accepting the petitioner’s pleas. The Supreme Court gave 60 days to FBR for the completion of the report pertaining to the offshore properties and submit its final report with the Chief Justice of Pakistan.