Islamabad: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has asked the federal government for additional authority that empowers the board to seal businesses on failure to install the Point of Sales (POS) system, news sources reported. A section in the Supplementary Finance Bill 2021 will expand taxmen’s authority to inspect business premises.
According to the reports, the decision was made after a lower-than-expected number of firms registered for the POS system with the FBR. During the current fiscal year, the federal government has declared intentions to connect at least 500,000 firms and shops to a system directly connected with the FBR for real-time sales data. However, just 2,606 firms have signed up so far, with only 2,500 having a real-time invoice monitoring system. According to one FBR source, the installation of the POS system is aimed at documenting the economy and to boost the tax base and achieving the PKR 50 billion target set for the fiscal year 2021-22.
It is worth noting that the FBR implemented POS to combat under-invoicing and consequent tax evasion. It has also given its tax officers the authority to inspect businesses and levy fines for failure to implement the system. In this regard, a graduated penalty mechanism has been developed that fines enterprises up to PKR 3 million in four warnings. If a firm fails to comply after the fourth warning, the FBR has the authority to shut the premises until POS is installed.
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