FBR going tough on real estate sector to meet tax targets

ISLAMABAD: In last-ditch efforts to minimise the ever increasing revenue shortfall, the FBR’s Commissioners’ conference on Friday devised its roadmap to clamp down on biggest cases of sales tax and real estate tax evasions in the remaining four month (March-June) period for moving towards the desired target of Rs4,398 billion on June 30, 2019.

The FBR will have to collect Rs2,070 billion in the remaining four months of the current fiscal year in order to display its envisaged annual tax collection target. In first eight months of the current fiscal, the FBR had faced a shortfall of Rs237 billion and there are increasing fears that the possible shortfall might touch Rs300 to 350 billion till the end of the ongoing financial year. Keeping in view the expected massive shortfall, the FBR convened commissioners’ conference here at Board headquarters to devise a strategy to minimise this yawning shortfall. After PM’s recent remarks regarding disbanding the reform if it could not be reformed, the top sources claimed that the FBR team was not demoralized rather it was motivated to accept this challenging situation. Each chief commissioner presented his or her strategy and members gave their feedback. It was decided that all big cases of sales tax evasion identified by Intelligence and Investigation wing of Inland Revenues would be pursued vigorously in order to generate multi-billion rupees tax demands.

“Another potential sector identified in the conference is real estate where evasion is rampant and we will go against them in terms of taking stern action,” said the official. Some tax experts argued that the FBR was heading towards revenue shortfall in the range of Rs300 to Rs350 billion for the whole financial year. With this massive shortfall, the overall budget deficit target under PTI led regime is heading towards witnessing highest ever absolute figure in the history of the country by touching 7 percent of the GDP.