Islamabad: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has decided to auction intellectual property rights (IPR), movable and immovable properties of big tax defaulters to shore up the revenue gaps, news sources reported on December 5.
In principle, the FBR has decided to proceed with the auction of large corporations that have repeatedly failed to submit their taxes. According to a statement issued by the authority, the Corporate Regional Tax Office Lahore has written a detailed letter to the Director General of the Intellectual Property Organization of Pakistan (IPOP) for the auction of rights and trademarks owned by big companies that have defaulted on their taxes under Section 48(i) and (e) of the Sales Tax Act, 1990.
In the first stage, the FBR will auction off a cosmetic company’s IPRs and properties in order to recover PKR 570 million in tax income. The auction will be held on December 12. The Registrar of the IPO was also notified to prevent the transfer, sale, and sub-lease of the tax defaulters’ copyright trademarks and designs.
It is worth noting that the government has set a PKR 7.4 trillion tax target for the current fiscal year. The tax objectives are higher than the previous year’s target of PKR 6.8 trillion, although the tax collection has not grown thus far. The FBR’s move to auction IPRs and other properties is likely to motivate other corporations to make payments on time.
Nauman Ahmad is an imaginative Pisces whose love for literature and nature is unparalleled. When he's not reading or hiking, he's sleeping and eating, which gives him plenty of energy for his next adventure.
