FBR to launch aggressive drive for registration of consumers

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has decided launching of an aggressive drive for registration of all industrial and commercial consumers from October 15, 2019.

In a tweet, the FBR Chairman Shabbar Zaidi stated on Friday, “All industrial and commercial consumers are necessarily required to be registered for tax purposes. FBR had been using persuasive modus operandi for the same. In order to achieve the desired results an aggressive drive will be undertaken from October 15, 2019.”

The FBR has been facing gigantic task to achieve highly ambitious tax collection target of Rs5,503 billion for the current fiscal year. So far the FBR has collected Rs963 billion in first three months against the desired target of Rs1,071 billion, indicating revenue shortfall of Rs108 billion. The envisaged target of second quarter (Oct-Dec) is more ambitious as the FBR will have to collect Rs2,367 billion in the ongoing second quarter of the current fiscal year. Without undertaking vigorous drive, it will not be possible to inch closer to the desired target of Rs5,503 billion by end of the current fiscal year on June 30, 2020.

The FBR intended to bring 350,000 industrial and commercial consumers into tax net. On other hand, the FBR also decided to bring over 20,000 brands shops and mega retailers into computerised tax system at point of sale.

“We have already linked software developed by the FBR with cash machines at 3,824 big shops all over the country related to textile and leather,” said a top official of FBR, and added that now this software would be attached to around 20,000 shops all over the country.

“The rate of GST is reduced at 14 percent for these big shopping malls instead of standard rate of GST of 17 percent,” said the official.

Earlier, the FBR chairman had asked the Ministry of Power that any application for commercial/industrial connection of electricity/gas shall not be processed unless the applicant is registered under section 181AA of Income Tax Ordinance 2001. In this regard, the FBR seeks Power Division’s support for implementation of Section 181AA of Income Tax Ordinance.

In a letter to the Ministry of Water and Power, the FBR had sought its help for the implementation of Section 181AA of Income Tax Ordinance 2001 which specifically stipulates that any application for commercial or industrial connection of electricity or gas shall not be processed and such connection shall not be provided unless the person applying for electricity or gas connection is registered under the said Section which pertains to filing of income tax returns.

The FBR chairman has requested Ministry of Power to issue instructions to power distribution companies to apprise them that it is mandatory to be on ''Active Taxpayers List (ATL)'' for every commercial and industrial electricity or gas consumer. The FBR chairman appreciated the cooperation of Ministry of Power for providing the data of industrial and commercial users of electricity and hoped that the Ministry of Power would also help in the implementation of Section 181AA of Income Tax Ordinance through the involvement of respective distribution companies.