- FBR to block 500,000 SIMs in first phase in April.
- Body identifies as many as 2 million tax evaders.
- Action to be taken under s.114B of Income Tax Ordinance 2001.
ISLAMABAD: As the government expedites measures to tackle dire economic indicators amid the prevailing financial crunch, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has geared up to block 500,000 SIMs of non-filers and under-filers, The News reported on Tuesday.
Sources have told the publication that the FBR will issue an Income Tax General Order (IGTO) after Eid-ul-Fitr and that necessary arrangements have already been made in this regard and the SIMs will be blocked within the ongoing month.
The development comes as the enforcement agency, last year, had secured additional powers in a bid to increase the tax net and was authorised, under Section 114B in the Income Tax Ordinance 2001, to disconnect utility connections and block mobile SIMs if a return is not filed in response to notices issued to them.
In November 2023, The News reported that as many as 145 district tax offices across the country were established as part of restructuring measures to bring 1.5 to 2 million new taxpayers into the tax net till June 2024.
Furthermore, FBR has also held consultations with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to identify 400,000 SIMs of under-filers who failed to file their returns despite possessing taxable and duly being notified by the body who was in possession of their transaction records.
Meanwhile, the remaining 100,000 SIMs will be of non-filers, who have been identified by Broadening to Tax Base (BTB) of the FBR.
“We have finalised details of this stringent action against alleged tax evaders and their SIMs of mobile phones would be blocked by April 2024,” one top official said.
Sources say that although the FBR had identified two million potential tax dodgers, it was decided that out of them only 0.5 million SIMs would be blocked in the first phase due to the concerns raised by telecom companies over the feasibility of blocking SIMs in such large numbers.
It is pertinent to know that FBR received total income tax returns of 5.9 million in tax year 2022, but it dropped to 4.2 million in the tax year 2023 till March 2024 in line with the Active Taxpayers List (ATL) as around 1.8 million did not file their returns.
Last month, the government in its bid to broaden the tax base, commence the registration of traders for its Tajir Dost Scheme in its bid to rope in five major categories of traders into the tax net.
Titled “Tajir Dost Scheme”, the move will focus on wholesalers, dealers, retailers, furniture and decoration showrooms, jewellers, cosmetics stores, grocery, medical and hardware stores, meat shops, vegetables and fruits outlets, motor vehicle showrooms, fertiliser, pesticide and chemical dealers in Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
The scheme which kicked off earlier this month will see the tax collection set to come into effect from July 1. Traders who fail to register by the April 30 deadline, will face monetary penalties under section 182 of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001.
