Islamabad: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has decided to discontinue ‘broadening of tax’ (BTB) zones established in major cities of the country in order to identify individuals not filing their tax returns, a news source reported.
The taxation authority had established the BTB zones in Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad, Peshawar, and Faisalabad. It had aimed to expand the tax net by bringing unregistered non-filers through these zones.
FBR had tasked its Inland Revenue Operations wing with the expansion of the tax base, and resolving the cases initiated within these BTB zones. Now, the taxation authority has decided to assign the jurisdiction of these zones to the zonal commissioners. FBR has already communicated with the BTB zones In this regard, during the last week.
FBR Chairman Syed Shabbar Zaidi confirmed that they have discontinued the BTB zones. He added that they don’t want to treat the function of expanding the tax net as separate from the Inland Revenue wing’s regular functions.
Zaidi explained that they have found it impractical to divide the income tax non-filers into registered, and unregistered individuals.
Registered non-filers are those individuals that have a National Tax Number (NTN), while unregistered non-filers don’t have this number.
The FBR chairman said that due to the creation of the BTB zones, the cases of the unregistered non-filers went to the zones, while the Inland Revenue department handled those for registered non-filers.
The BTB Directorate General had already finished some work on the zones. This included the mapping process of the residential apartments, and commercial plazas. The directorate had also issued notices to these entities for not filing their income tax returns.
Now, the FBR has asked the commissioners of the zones to send the identified cases to FBR headquarters, in addition to their jurisdiction orders.
Zaidi has assured that he will take measures to strengthen the Inland Revenue wing so that the matter of broadening the tax base remains a priority for the FBR.
Meanwhile, despite discontinuation of the BTB zones, FBR still has to decide the fate of the BTB Directorate General stationed at the headquarters.
