Islamabad: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Shabbar Zaidi on Wednesday said that the taxation authority had received more than 2.5 million tax returns for the tax year 2018, a news source reported. He revealed this information at the 21st Management Association of Pakistan (MAP) Convention – titled ‘Challenging Times, Winning Strategies’ – held in Islamabad.
He said that the FBR aims to increase this count to four million in tax year 2019. Moreover, he said that the federal institution would not revoke its policy requirement for traders to display their CNICs for undertaking purchases in excess of PKR 50,000.
He reiterated the government’s commitment to broaden the tax base; saying that it will not back away from taxing the services and trade sector. The government has postponed its CNIC condition for traders till September 30, he added.
He said that the purpose of these measures was to aggressively document the national economy. He also announced the taxation authority’s intention tackle the smuggling rackets from September 1 onwards.
In addition, the FBR is broadening its tax base to include teachers, doctors and educational institutes. So far, tax notices have been issued to educational institutes and doctors. According to Zaidi, the FBR has issued 100,000 notices to these professionals as well as restaurants to pay their taxes.
Chairman Zaidi also mentioned that the FBR had launched a digital software to facilitate the taxpayers in their payments of tax returns, federal excise duty and sales tax.
