PM to launch Single Sales Tax Portal by end Nov

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan is all set to launch the Single Sales Tax Portal by end of the ongoing month. After its inauguration, taxpayers will be able to file single GST returns for goods and services instead of filing five returns on monthly basis.

The FBR and the four provinces had already signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a single sales tax return and a single web portal. It was a much-awaited development agreed under the World Bank loan of $400 million Pakistan Raises Revenues (PRR) to harmonize GST on both goods and services. The GST on goods is the jurisdiction of the Centre while on services it falls under the domain of the provinces.

For harmonization of GST on goods and services, the most difficult aspect was the agreement on the definition of goods and services but the Centre and the provinces, after hectic engagement, evolved a consensus for placing Single Sales Tax Portal for filing of returns by end of ongoing month.

Now persons associated with businesses would only have to file one Sales Tax Return instead of filing five returns on monthly basis. It will help to reduce the cost of doing business in Pakistan.

According to the FBR’s announcement made here on Tuesday, building further on its vision to facilitate taxpayers and ensuring ease of doing business through automation, digitization, and minimization of human interaction with taxpayers, the FBR is all set to launch Single Sales Tax Portal during November, 2021.

This landmark initiative has been made possible after thorough discussions with the provincial revenue authorities of Punjab, Sindh, KPK, Baluchistan, and AJK. This facility will enable taxpayers to file single monthly Sales Tax returns instead of multiple returns (six in the past) on different portals; thereby, significantly reducing the time and cost of compliance, and thus achieving maximum efficiency. The system would be intelligent enough to sift and collect revenues from a single taxpayer and distribute the same among multiple revenue agencies.

This unique project would also help in resolving the long outstanding issues of input tax adjustment among relevant stakeholders. With the proposed launch of Single Sales Tax Portal later this month, the existing cumbersome and tedious processes would be replaced with an efficient and automated system of tax adjustments, with minimum human involvement.

The portal would also be beneficial for tax collectors in having a 360-degrees view of taxpayers’ business activities across the country in order to maximize revenue potential and tax compliance.

By all standards, this is a giant leap forward in taxpayers’ facilitation and at the same time, a significant step in harmonization of taxes between federal and provincial governments. The prime minister of Pakistan is likely to launch this mega national initiative later this month, the statement concluded.