FBR proposes to charge non-filers Rs 90 out of every Rs 100 mobile recharge

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) reportedly proposes a new strict plan to charge non-filers PKR 90 out of every PKR 100 mobile recharge. This action of FBR is to increase tax revenues and expand the tax base of Pakistan.

As part of the reported proposal, the FBR intends to raise withholding taxes significantly, from 2.5 percent to an incredible 90 percent for those who do not follow the tax rules.

According to media sources, if a non-filer adds PKR 100 to their mobile phone, telecom firms will reportedly deduct PKR 90 from the mobile recharge. Then they will submit it to the tax authorities under the proposal.

FBR has recently made public lists of nearly 500,000 non-filers. They also ordered the blocking of their SIM cards by telecom providers and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).

Hence, the relevant officials have disabled 11,500 SIM cards till now following the restricted order of FBR. However, more SIM blockages will likely happen in the next several days.

The deadline for telecom firms to block SIM cards of all identified non-filers is May 15. This action comes after FBR discovered millions of taxpayers who have not paid their taxes.

FBR selected more than half a million people from this pool for SIM card blocking regarding several factors. It includes past taxable income declarations and failure to file for the tax year 2023.

Even some media sources claim that the FBR may consider suing the relevant telecom companies if they do not block SIMs of non-filers by May 15. FBR will reportedly conduct talks about this and file a lawsuit against the telecom providers disobeying ITGO.

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ITGO refers to the Income Tax General Order. The telecom companies resisted the ITGO issued by the FBR while writing a letter to the PTA and IT ministry.

They stated in a letter they were required to continue providing their customers with uninterrupted services. They clarified there was never a situation where they could cut off or prevent service to any client. But after the discussions with FBR, they seem to have had second thoughts.

However, according to the latest development, FBR proposes to charge non-filers PKR 90 out of every PKR 100 mobile recharge. It is significant to note that this proposal is based on media reports.