Islamabad: Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin on Saturday indicated at a post-budget briefing that the government has asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a six-month extension of the construction industry amnesty programme, according to news sources.
The administration has previously extended the amnesty scheme‘s expiration date from December 31, 2020, to December 31, 2021, this year. The facility of non-disclosure of income – offered under the said scheme – was also extended until June 30, 2021.
According to the programme, developers and builders must register their projects on the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) computer-based Image Recognition Integrated Systems (IRIS) software by June 30, and deliver it by September 30, 2023.
According to reports, 1,083 projects worth PKR 340 billion have been filed with the FBR, while 292 unconfirmed projects involving PKR 43 billion are seeking to be registered. In addition, until May 6, around 3,851 buyers were interested in purchasing homes using tax incentives announced for the building sector.
According to the finance minister, the government wants to make it easier for people to invest their ‘untaxed money in the construction industry’.
While discussing revenue collection performance, Mr Tarin stated that the provinces play an important role in tax collection. The federal and provincial governments will be able to fund development projects without taking out loans as a result of improved provincial tax collection.
Furthermore, the finance minister stated that the FBR target for the next fiscal year is likely to be PKR 5.8 trillion. Aside from that, the government prefers to bring more individuals into the tax net rather than tax those who are already paying.
Iqra holds BS in International Relations and is passionate about writing engaging content on trending real estate topics. When not working, she is either spending time with family, shopping, or discussing shows & movies.
