According to FBR Chairman Amjed Zubair Tiwana, the barring of non-filers Sims and utility connections block will begin in January 2024.
He told a small group of media that the deadline for responding to the notices was December 28-29, 2023. Following that, the FBR will issue a general order with the names of the non-compliant non-filers, who will have their electricity and gas connections terminated.
It is a legal necessity to give names following the distribution of notifications to non-filers. Following that, the procedure of disconnecting electricity/gas connections and blocking SIM cards would begin.
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The FBR has sent a report to the federal cabinet for the nomination of two Anti-Benami Adjudicating Authority members.
The FBR Chairman stated that the Anti-Benami Adjudicating Authority will be operational soon. The report is likely to be discussed at the next meeting of the federal cabinet.
Concerning continuing tax administration changes, the FBR chairman acknowledged that the government is considering establishing a distinct Customs Board from the Inland Revenue Service.
According to Amjed Zubair Tiwana, the pilot project for digital invoicing in the fast-moving consumer products sector will begin in January 2024. According to him, all importers, producers, wholesalers/dealers/distributors, and wholesaler-cum-retailers of fast-moving consumer products will use the FBR’s electronic sales tax (e-ST) integration system.
The FBR Chairman was convinced that the current exercise of extending the tax base will bring 1.5 million more filers into the tax net.
According to the FBR chairman, the main impediment to the FBR’s effectiveness is a lack of resources. Following the availability of abundant resources with the FBR, income collection would expand even higher.
He also stated that the revenue collection pace will pick up in the second half of 2023-24 (January-June). The FBR collected 45 percent of the total collection during the first half of fiscal year 2022-23.
The FBR chairman stated that the FBR’s efforts from advance taxes and assessments resulted in a considerable rise in tax collection during the first six months of 2023-24.
The ratio of imports to domestic taxes demonstrated that approximately 40% of taxes come from imports, while 60% come from the domestic stage, he said.
In response to a query, he stated that the FBR has successfully managed the element of maladministration in refund payments at the lowest level of verification.
