Karachi: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Wednesday announced that it would consider enforcing penalties on large-scale retailers who failed to install automated point-of-sale (POS) systems at their outlets for real-time sales documentation, according to news sources.
In case of non-compliance, the retailers will not be entitled to an adjustment of input tax and the adjustable input tax for the entire tax period will be decreased by 15%.
The top retailers – who fall under the tier-1 category – might be subjected to monetary penalties if they fail to communicate their sales on the FBR’s real-time software system. The defaulters might be subjected to a fine of PKR 5,000 or 3% of the tax amount, under the Sales Tax Act 1990.
The source reported that the Regional Tax Office (RTO) Karachi issued notices to retailers (with around 500 outlets) of various products like jewellery, cosmetics, garments, footwear, and grocery, among others. These notices were sent when the retailers in question couldn’t meet the December 16 deadline set for the installation of the automated POS system.
According to an RTO-II official, in order for retailers to link their sales register with the FBR, all they have to do is to install a simple software. The POS system is expected to help the tax authority in deterring cases of smuggling and ensuring people pay duties on various goods, as well as countering the different loopholes found in sales tax collection.
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