Islamabad: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has introduced an easy-to-use sales tax registration system for new applicants, according to a news source. This system will allocate a Sales Tax Registration Number (STRN) within the first few seconds of application submissions.
FBR Member Inland Revenue Policy Dr Hamid Ateeq Sarwar and FBR Member Information Technology Mehmood Aslam addressed a press conference at FBR House on Tuesday, where they announced this development. They remarked that the offering of new STRNs to fresh taxpayers constituted a major policy shift; seeing that the individuals concerned would no longer be required to interact physically with department officials (which was deemed to be a stressful experience by many).
They said that the department had received many complaints from taxpayers regarding their repeated visits to the authority’s designated site offices to obtain STRNs. The new simplified system has been launched to facilitate the public, they added.
The process of getting STRNs requires applicants to possess either a National Tax Number (NTN) or a Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC) – in case of application submissions against the ‘Individuals’ category.
Taxpayers can submit their sales tax registration applications through the FBR’s ‘IRIS’ e-filing platform or through its mobile application. Once logged in, the applicants will be required to fill out a form and submit several important documents alongside their applications – following which the department will issue their STRNs within a few seconds.
Afterwards, the taxpayers will need to visit a National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA)’s authorised E-Sahulat Centre for biometric verification within 30 days, post-STRN allocation; otherwise, they will be marked ‘In-active’.
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