"The officials who'll harass the taxpayers will face severe punishment. No one will be spared in this regard," NBR Chairman Badiur Rahman told tax commissioners at a meeting at his office yesterday.

"Members of the intelligence agencies will be used as decoys. They'll approach the tax officers in the guise of taxpayers," he said, adding that any attempt to harass the taxpayers will be detected.

The meeting was dubbed as a strategy-setting session to make the amnesty programme that began yesterday, aiming to legalise the undisclosed money a success.

The government yesterday issued a Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) in this regard.

The NBR chief instructed the tax officials not to ask people about the sources of their money. "In case of any confusion just come to me," he asked the officials.

Rahman also told them that he had meetings with the chief adviser and the army chief who also asked him to implement the amnesty in a manner so that people are not harassed.

The government has offered an amnesty to the tax dodgers to legalise their undeclared but legally earned money.