KARACHI: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has been urged to restore tax exemption for inter corporate dividends, which has been abolished through Tax Laws (Second Amendment) Ordinance, 2021.
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FBR notifies transfer/posting of IR BS-19, BS-20 officers
ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Friday notified transfer and postings of Inland Revenue Service (IRS) officers of BS-19 and BS-20.
The FBR notified the transfers and postings of following officers:
01. Abdul Aziz Narejo (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) has been transferred and posted as Commissioner Inland Revenue (Appeals-VI), Karachi from the post of Commissioner Inland Revenue, (Sukkur Zone) Regional Tax Office, Sukkur.
02. Muhammad Safdar (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) has been transferred and posted as Commissioner Inland Revenue (District Zone) Regional Tax Office, Rawalpindi from the post of Commissioner Inland Revenue, (Cantt Zone) Regional Tax Office, Rawalpindi.
03. Abbas Ahmed Mir (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) has been transferred and posted as Commissioner Inland Revenue (Cantt Zone) Regional Tax Office, Rawalpindi from the post of Commissioner Inland Revenue, (West Zone-III) Regional Tax Office, Islamabad.
04. Girdhari Mal Maghwar (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) has been transferred and posted as Chief, (ST & FE) Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad from the post of Chief, (Admin Pool) Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad.
05. Fauzia Adil (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) has been transferred and posted as Commissioner Inland Revenue (Legal) Corporate Tax Office, Lahore from the post of Additional Commissioner Inland Revenue, Corporate Tax Office, Lahore.
06. Mussarat Ullah Khan (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) has been transferred and posted as Commissioner Inland Revenue (Special Zone for Builders & Developers ) Regional Tax Office, Islamabad from the post of Additional Commissioner Inland Revenue, Large Taxpayers Office, Islamabad.
07. Muhammad Nawaz (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) has been transferred and posted as Commissioner Inland Revenue (West Zone-III) Regional Tax Office, Islamabad from the post of Additional Commissioner Inland Revenue, Regional Tax Office, Rawalpindi.
08. Muhammad Saleem (Inland Revenue Service/BS-19) is presently posted as Commissioner Inland Revenue, (OPS) Commissioner Inland Revenue (Appeals-I), Multan. The officer is assigned Additional Charge of the post of Commissioner Inland Revenue (OPS) (Appeals-II), Multan as per rules.
09. Abdul Shakoor Shaikh (Inland Revenue Service/BS-19) has been transferred and posted as Commissioner Inland Revenue (OPS) (Sukkur Zone) Regional Tax Office, Sukkur from the post of Secretary, (Admin Pool) Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad.
The FBR said that the officers who are drawing performance allowance prior to issuance of this notification shall continue to draw this allowance on the new place of posting.
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Key changes made through Tax Laws (Second Amendment) Ordinance, 2021
KARACHI: The federal government recently introduced amendments to Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 through a presidential ordinance namely Tax Laws (Second Amendment) Ordinance, 2021.
According to a chartered accountant firms following are the key changes made through the Amendment Ordinance:
(1) Exemption for inter corporate dividend for those group structures which are eligible for group relief has been withdrawn. This amendment needs to be reconsidered in view of the overall framework and policy for promoting group / holding company structures.
(2) Donations eligible for direct deduction from income has been transposed into tax credit regime. As a result of that, overall upper limit for tax break for the donors, in respect of charitable donations, has been reduced.
(3) Tax credit regime for the NPOs has been further simplified and clarified. Certain religious and welfare organisations and international NGOs are allowed to avail tax credit regime subject to registration under the relevant laws and regulations.
(4) Tax exemptions of following businesses have been transposed into full / partial tax credit regime, resulting that these businesses can now avail tax breaks subject to certain compliances:
(i) coal mining projects of Sindh
(ii) startup businesses certified by Pakistan software board
(iii) export of software, IT and IT enabled services.
(iv) greenfield projects / ship building
(v) undertakings engaged in manufacturing of plant and machinery with dedicated use of generation of renewable energy.
Appropriate amendments are required to be made in the relevant provisions and SROs so that those eligible for tax credit regimes are issued exemption certificates and they do not suffer tax Withholdings which are eventually refundable.
(5) Tax credit for enlistment of a company on stock exchange has been withdrawn.
(6) Certain penalty provisions have been rationalised.
(7) Number of tax exemptions and concessions in the Second Schedule have been withdrawn, some of which were either person-specific or were timebound whereas some of the exemptions/ concessions have been transposed into tax credit regime. Major businesses affected by withdrawal of exemptions / concessions include Modarabas, LNG terminal owners & operators, services/contracts rendered/executed outside Pakistan and those IPPs who will enter into agreement or to whom letter of intent will be issued for setting up of power generation project on or after July 1, 2021.
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FBR transfers BS-21 officers of Pakistan Customs
ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Friday notified transfer and postings of BS-21 officers of Pakistan Customs Service (PCS) with immediate effect.
The FBR notified transfers of following officers:
01. Dr. Zulfikar Ali Chaudhary (Pakistan Customs Service/BS-21) has been transferred and posted as Chief Collector of Customs Enforcement (Central), Lahore from the post of Director General, Directorate General of Customs Valuation, Karachi.
02. Faiz Ahmad (Pakistan Customs Service/BS-21) has been transferred and posted as Chief Collector of Customs Appraisement & Facilitation (Central), Lahore from the post of Chief Collector Customs Enforcement (Central), Lahore.
03. Dr. Fareed Iqbal Qureshi (Pakistan Customs Service/BS-21) has been transferred and posted as Director General, Directorate General of Training & Research from the post of (Customs), Karachi Chief Collector Customs Appraisement and Facilitation (Central), Lahore.
04. Muhammad Iqbal Bhawana (Pakistan Customs Service/BS-21) has been transferred and posted as Director General, Directorate General of Law & Prosecution, Islamabad from the post of Collector, Collectorate of Customs (Adjudication-II), Karachi.
05. Ms. Shahnaz Maqbool (Pakistan Customs Service/BS-21) has been transferred and posted as Director General, Directorate General of Customs Valuation, Karachi from the post of Member, Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad.
06. Ms. Seema Raza Bokhari (Pakistan Customs Service/BS-21) has been transferred and posted as Director General, Directorate General of Post Clearance Audit & Internal Audit, (Stationed at Islamabad) from the post of Member, Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad.
The FBR said that the officers who are drawing performance allowance prior to issuance of this notification shall continue to draw this allowance on the new place of posting.
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Shahid Baloch posted as CCIR LTO Karachi
ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Friday posted Shahid Iqbal Baloch, a BS-21 officer of Inland Revenue Service (IRS), as Chief Commissioner Inland Revenue (CCIR) of Large Taxpayers Office (LTO) Karachi with immediate effect.
The FBR posted the chief commissioner of LTO Karachi on a regular basis after the retirement of Badaruddin Ahmed Qureshi almost two months after.
Badaruddin Ahmed Qureshi was retired on February 09, 2021 and since then Amir Ali Khan Talpur, the chief commissioner –IR of Regional Tax Office-II was given additional charge of the chief commissioner of LTO Karachi.
The LTO Karachi is the largest revenue collecting arm of the FBR and it contributes around 35 percent of the total revenue at the national level.
Sources at the LTO Karachi said that major decisions were pending due to the absence of a regular chief of the tax office.
The FBR also notified following transfer and postings on Friday:
01. Shaban Bhatti (Inland Revenue Service/BS-21) has been transferred and posted as Director General, (SPR&S) Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad from the post of Member, Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad.
02. Shahid Iqbal Baloch (Inland Revenue Service/BS-21) has been transferred and posted as Chief Commissioner Inland Revenue Large Taxpayers Office, Karachi from the post of Member, Federal Board of Revenue (Hq) (Stationed at Karachi).
03. Muhammad Iqbal (Inland Revenue Service/BS-21) has been transferred and posted as Director General, Directorate General of Intelligence & Investigation (Inland Revenue), Islamabad relieving Dr. Bashirullah Khan of his additional charge. The officer will also continue with the additional responsibility of DG, DNFBPs. He was transferred from the post of Member, (Admin Pool) Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad.
04. Ms. Aiysha Khalid (Inland Revenue Service/BS-21) has been transferred and posted as Director General, (WHT) Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad from the post of Member, (Admin Pool) Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad.
05. Muhammad Imtiaz (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) has been transferred and posted as Chief, (Admn Pool) Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad from the post of Director General, (OPS) (WHT) Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad.
The FBR said that the officers who are drawing performance allowance prior to issuance of this notification shall continue to draw this allowance on the new place of posting.
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FTO recommends disabling sales tax registration as soon application for de-registration received
ISLAMABAD: Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) has recommended disabling sales tax registration as soon application received for de-registration.
The FTO submitted proposals for budget 2021/2022, stating that in order to stop misuse of registration for issuing fake invoices, immediate disabling of the registration was proposed in electronic system as soon as the application for de-registration was received.
Sales Tax Registration of commercial importers was proposed to be allowed only to Income Tax filers along with other necessary cautions (i.e. declaration of Pakistan Customs Tariff (PCT) headings of the products they trade in) to check bogus registration.
Following budget proposals were also sent to FBR:
• to provide for immediate disabling of the registration in electronic system, pending final de-registration, as soon as the application for de-registration was received;
• to prescribe a list of documents/records to accompany the de-registration applications for the purpose of sub-rule (2) of rule 11; and
• suitable amendment to be made in rule 12(a)(vii) so that the Commissioner shall issue the orders of revocation of suspension within two weeks from the last date prescribed for issuance of show cause notice.
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FBR transfers IR BS-20 officers
ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Thursday notified transfers and postings of BS-20 officers of Inland Revenue Service (IRS).
Following officers have been transferred:
01.Tariq Hussain Sheikh (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) has been transferred and posted as Chief, Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad / Project Director (Track and Trace System / Video Analytic System), Federal Board of Revenue (HQ), Islamabad from the post of Chief, (ST & FE) Federal Board of Revenue (Hq), Islamabad.
02. Muhammad Bilal Malik (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) has been transferred and posted as Commissioner Inland Revenue (Appeals-IX), Lahore from the post of Additional Commissioner, Regional Tax Office, Lahore.
03. Ms. Iram Shabbir (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) has been transferred and posted as Director, Directorate General of Training & Research (Inland Revenue), Lahore from the post of Additional Commissioner, Regional Tax Office, Lahore.
04. Javed Iqbal (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) has been transferred and posted as Commissioner Inland Revenue (Enforcement-I) Corporate Tax Office, Karachi from the post of Additional Commissioner, Large Taxpayers Office, Karachi.
05. Sajjad Amjad (Inland Revenue Service/BS-20) has been transferred and posted as Commissioner Inland Revenue (Sahiwal Zone) Regional Tax Office, Sahiwal from the post of Additional Director, Directorateof Intelligence & Investigation (Inland Revenue), Faisalabad.
The FBR said that the officers who are drawing performance allowance prior to issuance of this notification shall continue to draw this allowance on the new place of posting.
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SRB posts 22.7pc growth in March collection
KARACHI: Sindh Revenue Board (SRB) has registered 22.7 percent growth in collection of sales tax on services during the month of March 2021 despite adverse effect of coronavirus on businesses.
According to data released by the provincial revenue authority, the collection was Rs11.46 billion in March 2021 as compared with Rs9.34 billion in the same month of the last year.
“The growth in revenue is phenomenal when viewed in the context of coronavirus effect on the businesses and the general slowdown of economy,” according to a SRB statement.
During first three quarters of fiscal year 2020/2021, the SRB collected an amount of Rs88.54 billion as compared with Rs77.9 billion in the first three quarters of 2019/2020, showing a growth of 13.66 percent.
The SRB attributed the revenue growth of 22.7 percent during March 2021 to the continued trust and cooperation of taxpayers, the continuous support by the Sindh government and the relentless efforts of the SRB officers and the staff.
The SRB is focusing on assigned revenue collection target of Rs135 billion for the current fiscal year, despite the adverse factors such as low economic growth and the resurge of COVID-19.
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FBR issues list of non-profit organizations eligible for tax credit
ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has restricted the benefit of tax concession to 62 non-profit organizations (NPOs) under Tax Laws (Second Amendment) Ordinance, 2021.
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FBR needs Rs1,306 billion to achieve annual collection target
ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is required Rs1,306 billion during the last quarter (April-June) to achieve revised downward target of Rs4,700 billion set for the current fiscal year.
According to provisional figures released by the FBR on Wednesday, the net collection was Rs3,394 billion during the first nine months (July – March) 2020/2021 as compared with Rs3,3,076 billion in the corresponding months of the last fiscal year, showing an increase of 10 percent.
The collection in the first nine months of the current fiscal year has also exceeded by over Rs100 billion against the target of Rs3,287 billion set for the period.
The original revenue collection target for the current fiscal year was set at Rs4,963 billion. However, sources in the FBR said that the target has been revised downward to Rs4,700 billion.
Therefore, the FBR is required to collect more Rs1,306 billion in the remaining three months of the current fiscal year to achieve the target.
According to a statement issued by the FBR, the net collection for the month of March 2021 was Rs.475 billion, against a required increase of Rs.367 billion, representing an increase of 46 percent over Rs.325 billion collected in March 2020 and 129 percent of the target.
“The year-on-year growth of 46 percent is unprecedented. These figures would further improve before the close of the day and after book adjustments have been taken into account,” the FBR said.
On the other hand, the gross collections increased from Rs.3,178 billion during this period last year to Rs.3,571 billion this year, showing an increase of 13 percent.
The amount of refunds disbursed was Rs.177 billion compared to Rs.102 billion paid last year, showing an increase of 74 percent. This is reflective of FBR’s resolve to fast-track refunds to prevent liquidity shortages in the industry.
The improved revenue performance is a reflection of growing economic activities in the country despite facing the challenge of third wave of COVID-19. During April-June 2021, it is expected that this revenue performance would be improved substantially compared to 2020 when economic activities were disrupted due to COVID.
Meanwhile, FBR’s efforts to broaden the tax base are expending apace. Early signs suggest such efforts are bearing fruits. As on 28-2-2021, income tax returns for tax year 2020 have reached 2.8 million compared to 2.6 million last year, showing an increase of 8 percent. The tax deposited with returns was Rs.51 billion compared to only Rs.33.0 billion, showing an increase of 54 percent.
It may be recalled that last year the final date for submission to returns was 28th February. FBR’s decision to adhere to 8th December as the last date has been vindicated as more returns and higher tax payments have been recorded during the tax year 2020 compared to 2019.
Moreover, a number of 123,680 new Income Tax Returns have been received for Tax Year 2020 resulting into collection of additional tax of Rs. 511 million.
Sales tax returns for the period from July 2020 to February 2021 have reached 179,584 whereas they were 167,769 in the corresponding months last year, showing an increase of 7.04 percent. The sales tax paid with returns is 624 billion this year which was 536 billion last year, showing an increase of 16.41 percent.
FBR has also released the information about Tier-I retailers who have been integrated with POS system. According to the information, 10283 sales points have been integrated with Point of Sales Linked Invoicing System.