FBR invites traders today to talk out Tajir Dost Scheme

ISLAMABAD: Amid the retailers warning of a countrywide shutter-down strike on Wednesday, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has invited the traders’ representatives on Tuesday (today) to hold parleys and find out an amicable solution.

The Tajir Dost Scheme has failed to gain momentum so far. Although the number of registrations crossed the 150,000 mark last week, the collected amount was less than Rs0.1 million. The FBR expanded the scheme from six to 42 cities and imposed a tax ranging from Rs100 to Rs60,000 depending upon the value of the shop.

The government has agreed with the IMF to fetch Rs50 billion through the retailers’ scheme during the current fiscal year, but the FBR has failed to bring them into the tax net.

Although the government had involved the trader leader Naeem Mir from Lahore to convince the retailers to come into the tax net, no apparent success has been achieved so far.

The FBR has been struggling to achieve the first quarter (July-Sept) target of Rs2652 billion agreed with the IMF. According to the scheme, there is a provision of commercial fair value determined by the FBR in case of each city. The FBR’s official notification states that in this special procedure, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context, — (a) “indicative income” means income as specified in column (4) of the Table in the Schedule-II and determined by the Board on the basis of factors including but not limited to rental value of the property, its location and fair market value; “physical place” includes any place connected to business or an office or a home operating as a business place; and “shopkeeper” includes wholesaler, dealer, distributor, retailer, manufacturer-cum-retailer, importer-cum-retailer, or such person who combines the activity of retail and wholesale with any other business activity or other person in the supply chain of goods.

The retailers’ scheme had been expanded to Abbottabad, Attock, Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur, Chakwal, Dera Ismail Khan, Faisalabad, Ghotki, Gujrat, Gwadar, Hafizabad, Haripur, Hyderabad, Islamabad, Jhang, Jhelum, Karachi, Kasur, Khushub, Lahore, Larkana, Lasbela, Lodhran, Mandi Bahauddin, Mansehra, Mardan, Mirpurkhas, Multan, Nankana, Narowal, Peshawar, Quetta, Rahim Yar Khan, Rawalpindi, Sajawal, Sargodha, Sheikhupura, Sialkot, Sukkur and Toba Tek Singh.