Business

VAT numbers to replace NTNs

Irshad Ansari May 16, 2010

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has decided to abolish National Tax and Sales Tax registration numbers and issue Value Added Tax (VAT) numbers in their place to taxpayers.

The FBR has also designed a new VAT return form, which will be given final shape by May 28. A senior FBR official told The Express Tribune on Saturday that after the enforcement of VAT from July 1, National Tax Numbers (NTNs) and Sales Tax registration numbers of taxpayers would be replaced with VAT numbers and they would be issued only one number.

“This will check tax evasion,” he said. The official said that the FBR would link income tax and VAT-related transactions of the taxpayers to find out what information they are providing while filing income tax and VAT returns. The official said that the FBR has made preparations to automatically bring those registered under Sales Tax into the VAT system while the sectors in the supply chain which had not been registered so far would also be covered under the new regime.

Currently, Sales Tax is charged at the manufacturing level and its amount is printed on product packages. However, besides manufacturers, VAT will also be imposed on wholesalers, distributors and those retailers whose annual turnover is more than Rs7.5m million or more.

Published in the Express Tribune, May 16th, 2010.

COMMENTS (2)

muhammed ashraf gandhi | 14 years ago | Reply on paper it may look a good idea to enforce vat. however this woul create business tycoons by virtue of refund culture as the same has happened in the sales tax regieme.this would open gateway to corruption.a country having black economy more than 50 percent would further be dragged into black economy

Syed A. Mateen | 14 years ago | Reply I do not know who invented the idea to impose VAT in Pakistan? As a lay man, I understand that VAT can only be imposed on merchants dealing in goods but what about the people who are only providing services? Will VAT still be imposed on them?

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