Deadline to file tax returns extended till Nov 30

ISLAMABAD: After witnessing around 50 percent decline in filing tax returns, the PTI led government is left with no other option but to grant two-month extension in filing income tax returns.

The FBR also faced revenue shortfall of Rs15 billion for achieving its revised target envisaged for the first quarter (July-Sept) period of the current fiscal year.

According to details available with The News, on Sunday night, the FBR had provisionally received only 340,000 returns for the Tax Year 2018 up to September 30, 2018, against 608,587 income tax returns in the same period of the last fiscal year, reflecting a decrease of 268,587 returns.

Official sources at the FBR told The News that the last government had introduced tax incentives for individuals in massive manner that resulted into exclusion of almost 1.2 million filers from the tax net. Secondly, the restriction imposed on filers for purchasing plots and motor vehicles also created problems for filing income tax returns. However, the sources said that it was failure of the FBR that they could not manage to convince taxpayers to come into the tax net. It was a second thought on the part of the FBR for imposing Rs1,000 and Rs2,000 on income earners up to Rs1.2 million even after approval of the finance bill by the last parliament as the FBR wanted to lure them to remain into tax net with the fear that most of them would not bother to file their returns.

The official statement issued by the FBR on Sunday night states that the FBR collects Rs836 billion during the first quarter. The Federal Board of Revenue, during the first quarter of the current financial year, recorded a provisional net revenue collection of over Rs836 billion as against Rs766 billion collected during the same period of the previous fiscal year, including collection on account of book adjustments. The assigned revised revenue target for the first quarter is Rs851 billion.

The increase of Rs70 billion from the corresponding period of previous financial year is despite the fact that relief measures, introduced through the Finance Act, 2018, have adversely affected the revenue collection in the first quarter.

The provisional collection for the month of September 2018 stands at Rs323 billion, excluding collection on account of book adjustments. The figures of collection received in the treasuries of the remote areas may further swell the revenue figures. The revenue collection trend during the first quarter of the financial year augurs well for the efforts of FBR towards achievement of the assigned revised annual revenue target of Rs4,398 billion.

The Federal Board of Revenue on Sunday, (September 30, 2018), also extended the due date for filing Income Tax Returns/Statements by companies required to file returns by 30th September, 2018, salaried individuals, other individuals and AOPs, till 30th November, 2018. The date was extended for two months in view of the directions of federal minister for Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs for simplification of the Return forms.