FBR issues notices to 25,000 non-filers

KARACHI: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has issued notices to around 25,000 tax dodgers, who were identified through monitoring of withholding tax on fees paid to educational institutions, sources said on Thursday.

The sources said such individuals paid Rs200,000 and above as education fees in a year, but they were not on the tax roll. An official at the Regional Tax Office Karachi said the notices were issued countrywide to individuals, asking them to get registered with the tax authorities otherwise the tax departments would slap fine and penalties on them.  The FBR, through Finance Act, 2013, introduced five percent advance tax on annual education fees of Rs200,000 and above. The initiative was taken to bring people who were drawing taxable income into the tax net.

The official said proceedings related to enforcing the income tax returns and wealth statement declaration have been initiated. “In case of non-compliance, the defaulters may face fine and penalties as defined in the law,” the official added.

The official said schools, colleges and other educational institutions were nominated as withholding agents for collecting the advance tax and providing details of individuals paying fees. The threshold liable to withholding tax includes fee and all charges received by the educational institutions. The tax is, however, adjustable if taxpayers are included in the active taxpayers list.