FBR chief fears decline in tax collection
PHOTO: FILE
Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Asim Ahmed has said that the tax revenue may go down in the coming months, which the tax board will try to curb with the help of administrative measures.
Talking to businessmen and industrialists at the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) on Saturday, Ahmed announced that the simplest one-page tax return form would be introduced for businessmen next week.
“The one-page return form will also solve the issue of fixed tax,” he said and announced that the practice of annual tax audit would be stopped and it would be conducted every four years.
He denied having knowledge of the upcoming mini-budget or the imposition of new taxes and stressed that the FBR had achieved its tax collection target till October.
Earlier, while making a raft of complaints, the businessmen and traders demanded the release of tax refund and customs rebate.
They pointed out that the traders were suffering due to system failures at banks, the FBR and State Bank, and also because of lack of communication.
They accused the Customs of confiscating the local unprocessed fabric and demanded the abolition of 3% additional sales tax on import of raw material and 1.5% reduction in the tax on imported pulses.
Businessmen Group Chairman Zubair Motiwala pointed out that there was a shortage of dollars while people had $3-4 billion.
Responding to the demands of traders, FBR’s Member Customs Mokarram Jah said that orders had been issued to the Customs not to stop the clearance of goods having proper documents.
He revealed that now raids and examination of goods could not be conducted without the permission of additional collector of Customs. “Instructions have been issued for the inspection of suspicious goods in the presence of deputy collector. Under the new orders, only the assistant collector has the authority to conduct raids.”
At a separate event, the FBR chairman said that the revenue board had estimated the annual revenue potential of wholesale and retail sectors at Rs250 billion, with the share of taxes from electricity bills alone standing at Rs6 billion.
Speaking to businessmen and industrialists at the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), Ahmed emphasised that revenue collection from the wholesale and retail sectors was not possible without the use of technology and digital invoicing.
He pointed out that tax exemptions for the erstwhile federally and provincially administered tribal areas would come to an end on June 30, 2023 and according to an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the government could not offer further tax amnesty and exemption.
Saying that the country’s tax-to-GDP ratio was extremely low, the FBR chief urged the business community and traders to submit tax returns before the end of the extended deadline. “Although the notices issued by the FBR cannot be withdrawn, orders have been given for the early settlement of these notices,” he added.
He said that the FBR was facing difficulties in revenue collection and the clearance of imported goods because of application of Chapter 84 and 85 of Pakistan Customs Tariff. However, he voiced hope that the issue of industrial parts and machinery would be resolved soon.
Ahmed gave assurances that the FBR would never bar the import of industrial parts since the industrial sector’s production was giving a boost to the FBR’s revenue receipts.
He stressed that in order to facilitate the industry, the Tax Reforms Commission had been restored on the instructions of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, adding that the tax refunds of exporters were being released on a fast track with no restrictions from the FBR.
Earlier, former FPCCI president Nasir Hayat Maggo regretted that there were no effective communication links between the FPCCI and the FBR.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 6th, 2022.
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