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A few days ago, over a dozen members of the tax authority raided Islamabad’s largest book store. They showed a notice to the manager at the front desk stating that they were sealing the place. Within minutes, they drove the customers to the exit and locked the store.
Located in Jinnah Super Market, the bookstore is one of the main attractions for diplomats, tourists and local bibliophiles on account of its diverse collection of books.
“This was shocking for us. There was no advance notice. Suddenly, over a dozen tax authority team members entered the store and expelled us saying they were sealing it. Then, they shut down the store,” the store manager said.
Later, according to the store manager, he got a call at night that the store was being de-sealed.
The regional office of the Federal Board of Revenue raided this decades-old bookstore and sealed it for not having a point of sales machine, a demand the store manager claimed was not relevant to the bookstore category.
POS machines are directly linked to the FBR. These record sales of major restaurants, outlets, stores etc to monitor any discrepancies in the reported sales and the tax deposits.
The outlet was reportedly de-sealed on the instruction of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif. FBR declined comment on the matter.
“The raid was made over the POS machines,” a senior officer of the regional tax office said, on the condition of anonymity. “only high-ups know what happened later on.”
The officer said the store sells several products besides books – i.e. stationary etc. He refused to respond to further questions.
The store owner said that they were already contesting a notice regarding the POS machine. He said his lawyer had already clarified that books and stationery items were exempt under the Sixth Schedule of the Sales Tax Act and, therefore, the store did not fall under mandatory registration for the POS machine.
“The FBR’s action was disheartening. The book reading habit is already in decline and the libraries are vanishing,” he said.
According to the store staff, there has been a sharp (over 50 per cent) drop in customers over the recent years.
The book shop was sealed over a minor issue and not established tax evasion. The FBR had sent a notice regarding the installation and registration of the machine three months ago. The store management had responded by claiming it did not fall in the mandatory category.
The issue elicited mixed reactions from book-lovers and customers. Most people agreed that the abrupt sealing of such a business without priors notice tended to tarnish the authority’s image.
“There should be no tax evasion by any business. Equally, there should be no harassment by the authorities. Such actions by the tax authority are not good,” Muhammad Waqar, a customer of the store, said.
Some people said that the de-sealing of the store, if it was based on social media pressure, too, was strange. They wondered at the way the system was being run.
“There must be action against the regional tax authority if the sealing was wrong. If the action was lawful, then the de-sealing raises the question of transparency,” Muhammad Abbas, another customer said.
Saeed Book Bank, the largest bookstore in the town, has been in headlines because of the declining business and related matters.
The owner closed an old showroom in Peshawar some years ago on account of the law and order situation. The store also closed a branch in F-11 in 2019, following a drop in revenue.
“We are continuing this business as a proud family legacy. We are not making much from it,” Ahmad Saeed, the son of the founder of the store and the current owner told The News on Sunday.
“The books business is already on the decline. The government should support such efforts and encourage these rather than taking such actions,” Saeed said. He added that “According to the Sales Tax law, books do not fall in the category. I don’t know why the tax authority sealed the store the other day.”
He also said if the business environment continued to deteriorate, he may be forced to wind up.
“Islamabad has already seen closure of London Books, Durrani Books. A couple of other famous bookstores are also facing losses and decline in customers,” a book-reader, Ishtiaq Ali, said. He said that governments should support such businesses.
The author is a staffreporter. He can be reached at vaqargillanigmail.com