The Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) is considering harsh measures, such as imposing a Rs. 1 million penalty on different kinds of tax evaders, in the midst of the current government’s intense attempts to solve the nation’s financial challenges.
The tax authority has identified ten major revenue-spinning sectors—textile, banking and insurance, chemical and fertilizer, petroleum, tobacco, steel and iron, beverages, tea, cement, and real estate activities—and proposed six important measures against nil, null, and non-filers. These sectors will be subject to independent expert hiring.
This comes one day after the organization declared that the tax return submission deadline of September 30 will not be extended.
The tax collection body has prepared for significant taxation measures against millions of people, however, as the FBR faces a massive tax shortfall in the first quarter (July-September) under the IMF program of $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) coupled with its inability to bring 3.2 million retailers into the tax bracket.
According to sources, the FBR’s internal review revealed a tax shortfall of more than Rs220 billion for the first quarter (July–September) compared to the objective of Rs2,652 billion that was agreed upon.
In August 2024, the authority had a Rs98 billion deficit. The FBR has the difficult challenge of obtaining Rs1,196 billion for the current month to materialize the first quarter agreed aim with the IMF, having collected Rs1,456 billion in the initial two months (July and August) against the allocated target of Rs1,554 billion.
The parliament approved the FBR’s yearly tax collection target of Rs12,970 billion (or Rs12,913 billion).
As a result, the tax collecting organization has established six stringent measures, the first of which is the suspension of utilities for each of the three groups.
