Karachi, March 23, 2024 – Pakistan has taken a significant stride in integrating business enterprises in real-time through its portal for documenting transactions nationwide.
According to a commentary released by Syed Shabbar Zaidi & Co. on Saturday regarding the recently issued SRO 428(I)/2024 dated, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has undertaken one of the most relevant steps to improve tax compliance by integrating the points of sale of certain important business enterprises with the Federal database in real-time.
“It is regrettable that such an important step has not been adequately publicized,” stated the commentary.
Enterprises included in the SRO are mandated to integrate by July 1, 2024.
Fourteen (14) types of business enterprises have been instructed to mandatorily integrate through Point of Sale (POS) systems. These enterprises are typically large or medium-sized. For example, only air-conditioned restaurants are included in the list, among others.
Business enterprises required to integrate include:
1. Retailers, including manufacturer cum-retailers, wholesaler-cum-retailers, importer-cum-retailers, or any other person combining retail sale with another business activity. This includes retailers operating as units of national or international chains of stores, those in air-conditioned shopping malls, and those with a cumulative electricity bill exceeding rupees twelve hundred thousand in the preceding twelve consecutive months, among others.
2. Foreign Exchange Dealers/Exchange Companies.
3. Private schools, colleges, universities, professional institutes/vocational training centers where the fee per child exceeds Rs 1,000 per month.
4. All medical service providers including dentists, physiotherapists, plastic surgeons, hair implant surgeons, and veterinary doctors where fees exceed Rs 500.
5. Private hospitals or medical care centers providing medical consultation, hospitalization, or other ancillary services.
6. Restaurants with air conditioning facilities.
7. Hotels, motels, guest houses, marriage halls, Marquees, clubs including race clubs.
8. Health clubs, gyms, physical fitness centers, swimming pools, and multipurpose clubs operated by any civilian/non-civilian administration.
9. Inter-city travel by road with air conditioning facility.
10. Courier services and cargo services.
11. Beauty parlors, clinics, slimming clinics, massage centers, pedicure centers with air conditioning.
12. Pathological laboratories, medical diagnostic laboratories including X-Rays, CT Scan, M.R. Imaging, etc.
13. Photographers, videographers, and event managers where the fee charges are less than Rs. 50,000 per event.
14. Chartered Accountants or Cost and Management Accountants.
Through SRO 428(I)/2024 dated March 22, 2024, a schedule has been inserted, replacing earlier two schedules. Initially applicable only in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Multan, Peshawar, and Gujranwala, these regulations now extend to the entirety of Pakistan.
