Islamabad: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has requested the authorities concerned to prohibit supply of industrial or commercial power connections to non-active taxpayers, a news source reported. For this purpose, FBR Chairman Shabbar Zaidi has written a letter to the Ministry of Power.
In his letter, Zaidi has sought assistance from the ministry for the implementation of Section 181AA of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001. This regulation specifically stipulates that any application for commercial or industrial connection of electricity or gas ‘shall not be processed and such connection shall not be provided unless the person applying for electricity or gas connection is an income tax filer’.
Zaidi added that the federal institution had already extended the date of filing income tax returns (for FY2018-19) to August 2, 2019, in its bid to facilitate the taxpayers concerned. He asked the ministry to issue relevant instructions to the power distribution companies (Discos).
According to Zaidi, it is mandatory for every commercial and industrial (electricity or gas) consumer to be part of the FBR’s Active Taxpayers List (ATL). Moreover, he appreciated the cooperation of Ministry of Power for providing the data of industrial and commercial users of electricity.
