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Category: Taxation

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FBR directs issuing exemption certificates to gratuity, provident funds

ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has issued directives for grant of income tax exemption to gratuity and provident funds.

Through an office order, the FBR issued directives on complaints received from taxpayers that tax offices were refusing to grant income tax exemption against gratuity funds/ provident funds.

The FBR expressed concern on the treatment being given by some field formations on the provident funds/ gratuity funds requests for exemption certificates under section 159/150/151 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001.

The FBR said that the taxpayers had pointed out the exemption granted to the funds prior to tax year 2013, the tax offices were refusing the request for exemption certificates.

The tax offices were asking the taxpayers to move fresh applications for recognition of the funds on the pretext that the fact of their approval is not available/evident in the FBR’s system IRIS.

The FBR clarified the position by stating that the exemption requests of recognized provident/gratuity funds cannot be refused. Therefore, the revenue body directed the tax offices to process the exemption certificate requests of all the provident / gratuity funds who produce evidence of recognition under the relevant rules framed under the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 or repealed law Income Tax Ordinance, 1979.

“Further, asking for fresh applications for recognition merely on the pretext that such recognition is not available on the system is not a valid excuse,” the FBR directed.

However, the FBR cautioned the tax offices: “Mere issuance of exemption certificate under section 159 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 does not foreclose the possibility of reviewing/recalling such action in case it is later-on discovered that the taxpayer produced some incorrect/invalid or wrong evidence for obtaining the favor.”

January 3, 2021
Sales tax recovery: movable, immovable property may be sold without attachment

ISLAMABAD: Sales tax laws have given immense powers to officers of Inland Revenue and they can recover due sales tax by selling movable or immovable property without attachment.

Sources in Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) told PkRevenue.com that under Section 48 of the Sales Tax Act, 1990 a mechanism for recovery of arrears of tax has been defined.

For the purpose of recovery of tax, penalty or any other demand raised under this Sales Tax Act, 1990, the officer of Inland Revenue shall have the same powers which under the Code of Civil Procedure 1908 (V of 1908), a Civil Court has for the purpose of recovery of an amount due under a decree.

They said that Section 48(1)(b)(c) clearly mentioned that tax officials may attach and sell or sell without attachment any movable or immovable property of the registered person from whom tax is due.

The tax officers are also empowered to recover the sales tax amount from a person whose amount is stuck up with other tax authorities.

“[The tax officers may] deduct the amount from any money owing to person from whom such amount is recoverable and which may be at the disposal or in the control of such officer or any officer of Income Tax, Customs or Central Excise Department,” according to the law.

The officers of Inland Revenue can order any person who holds money of a person in default, besides the officers can also:

“Stop removal of any goods from the business premises of such person till such time the amount of tax is paid or recovered in full;

“require by a notice in writing any person to stop clearance of imported goods or manufactured goods or attach bank accounts;

“seal the business premises till such time the amount of tax is paid or recovered in full;

“recover such amount by attachment and sale of any movable or immovable property of the guarantor, person, company, bank or financial institution, where a guarantor or any other person, company, bank or financial institutions fail to make payment under such guarantee, bond or instrument.”

Provided that the Commissioner Inland Revenue or any officer of Inland Revenue shall not issue notice under this section or the rules made thereunder for recovery of any tax due from a taxpayer if the said taxpayer has filed an appeal under section 45B in respect of the order under which the tax sought to be recovered has become payable and the appeal has not been decided by the Commissioner (Appeals), subject to the condition that ten per cent of the amount of tax due has been paid by the taxpayer.

“If any arrears of tax, default surcharge, penalty or any other amount which is adjudged or payable by any person and which cannot be recovered in the manner prescribed above, the Board or any officer authorized by the Board, may, write off the arrears in the manner as may be prescribed by the Board, the FBR said.

January 3, 2021
FBR launches e-appeals for tax disputes

ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has launched electronic mode of filing appeals for resolving tax disputes.

The e-filing of appeals has been implemented from January 01, 2021, said a statement issued on Saturday.

Commissioner Inland Revenue (Appeals) is the first tier of appellate hierarchy provided in the Inland Revenue laws.

Taxpayers aggrieved with the orders of Inland Revenue tax authorities file first appeal before the Commissioner (Appeals).

Providing facility of filing of appeals electronically by the taxpayer is another step toward automaton of FBR.

In compliance with the vision of the Prime Minister, FBR has collaborated with Pakistan Revenue Automation Limited for development of software for e-filing of appeals.

In the process the input of major stakeholders such as ICAP, ICAMP and PTBA was also taken.

The system will enable the taxpayers aggrieved by the orders of tax authorities to e-file appeals on the Iris Web Portal. Both the revenue and the taxpayers will reap the benefits of the automated system for e-filing of appeals.

January 2, 2021
FBR receives 2.3 million returns for tax year 2020

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has received 2.3 million income tax returns for the tax year 2020 by December 31, 2020, according to an official statement released on Friday.
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January 2, 2021
FBR needs 45.5 percent collection growth in second half to achieve annual target

ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) needs to collect tax at a difficult growth rate of 45.5 percent in remaining half (January – June) of fiscal year 2020/2021 to achieve full year revenue collection target of Rs4,963 billion.

According to provision figures released by the FBR on Friday the net collection for the first half (July – December) of fiscal year was at Rs2,204 billion as compared with Rs2,101 billion in the same period of the last fiscal year, showing a growth of five percent.

The FBR also missed the revenue collection target for the first half by slight margin. The collection target for the first half of the current fiscal year was Rs2,210 billion.

Tax authorities hoped that the momentum of revenue collection would increase as major chunk of revenue was lost last year during the second half due to coronavirus pandemic.

According to a FBR report an amount of around Rs500 billion as revenue could not be realized due to halt in economic activities after coronavirus lockdown during March – June 2019/2020.

The FBR needs another Rs2,759 billion during the next half of the current fiscal year to achieve the target. It shows that average monthly collection should be around Rs460 billion during January – June 2020/2021.

The tax collection was at Rs2,101 billion during last six months of the preceding fiscal year.

Therefore, in case the FBR could able to realize Rs500 billion revenue losses incurred due to the pandemic in the last fiscal year the final tally would be in favor of the tax authorities.

The FBR has been assigned Rs4,963 billion revenue collection target for fiscal year which was 24.16 percent higher when compared with total collection of Rs3,997 billion in the last fiscal year.

Tax experts, however, doubt about the collection numbers by end of current fiscal year. They said that the coronavirus was not over and second phase of the pandemic had already denting economies of many countries.

The breakup of head-wise collection revealed the direct tax collection posted 4 percent growth to Rs816 billion during first half of the current fiscal year as compared with Rs785 billion in the same half of the last fiscal year.

The collection of sales tax registered 6.7 percent growth to Rs915 billion during July – December 2020 as compared with Rs857.6 billion in the corresponding half of the last fiscal year.

The collection of the federal excise duty stood at Rs127 billion during the half under review as compared with previous collection of Rs125 billion.

Likewise, the collection of customs duty posted 3.06 percent growth to Rs336 billion during the first half of the current fiscal year as compared with Rs326 billion in the corresponding half of the last fiscal year.

The FBR collected Rs508 billion during the month of December 2020 as compared with Rs469 billion in the same month of the last year.

The issuance of refunds increased by 90 percent to Rs102 billion during first half of the current fiscal year as compared with Rs53 billion in the corresponding half of the last fiscal year.

The FBR said that another refund amount of Rs42 billion was issued under Prime Minister Corona Relief Package.

January 1, 2021
FBR clarifies date extension to incentive package for construction industry

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) issued a clarification on Thursday, shedding light on the extension of the Prime Minister’s incentive package for the construction industry.
(more…)

January 1, 2021
SRB collects Rs57 billion in first half

KARACHI: Sindh Revenue Board (SRB) has collected Rs57.02 billion during first half (July – December) of the current fiscal year as compared with Rs49 billion in the same half of the last fiscal year, showing an increase of 16 percent.

The SRB has been assigned Rs135 billion collection target for the current fiscal year, which means the revenue body needs another Rs78 billion during the remaining half to achieve the target.

However, the SRB said that it was focusing focused to achieve the assigned revenue target of Rs135 billion for the current fiscal year, despite all the adverse factors such as low economic growth and the resurgence of COVID-19.

During the month of December 2020, the SRB posted 25 percent growth in revenue collection for the month and the collection is record high in a month during the first half since SRB started collection in 2011/2012.

The SRB said that during the month of December 2020, the board made a record revenue collection of Rs11.75 billion as compared to Rs9.39 billion collected during December 2019 thus registering a growth of 25 percent.

The revenue collection during December 2020 is the highest ever collection in any of the months in the first half of the financial year, since SRB started collecting sales tax on services in 2011/2012.

The SRB said that the success in achieving the phenomenal revenue growth of 25 percent during December 2020, has been attributed to the conducted trust and cooperation of the SRB taxpayers, the continuous support by the government of Sindh and the restless efforts of the SRB officers and staff.

December 31, 2020
Amnesty date for developers, builders extended up to June 30

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has extended the last date for amnesty scheme to builders and developers up to June 30, 2021, sources said on Thursday.

The date for availing immunity from declaration of investment by builders and developers is expiring today i.e. December 31, 2020.

The sources said that the date has been extended for next six months.

Similarly, project completion date has also been extended up to September 30, 2023 from September 30, 2022.

Further, availing the fixed tax regime for builders and developers has also been extended up to December 31, 2021.

The amendment to existing laws may be made through presidential ordinance, the sources added.

Following is the existing law related to builders and developers:

Section 100D: Special provisions relating to builders and developers. –

(1) For tax year 2020 and onwards, the tax payable by a builder or a developer, as defined in sub-section (9), who opt to pay tax under this section shall be computed and paid in accordance with the rules in the Eleventh Schedule on a project by project basis on the income, profits and gains derived from the sale of buildings or sale of plots, as the case may be, from–

(a) a new project to be completed by the 30th day of September, 2022; or

(b) an incomplete existing project to be completed by the 30th day of September, 2022:

Provided that any income, profits and gains of a builder or developer of an incomplete existing project earned up to tax year 2019 shall be subject to the provisions of this Ordinance as were in force prior to the commencement of the Tax Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 (Ordinance I of 2020):

Provided further that any income of a builders or developer other than income, profits and gains subject to this section shall be subject to tax as per the provisions of this Ordinance.

(2) Where sub-section (1) applies,-

(a) the income shall not be chargeable to tax under any head of income in computing the taxable income of the person;

(b) no deduction shall be allowed under this Ordinance for any expenditure incurred in deriving the income:

(c) the amount of the income shall not be reduced by –

(i) any deductible allowance under Part IX of Chapter III: or

(ii) the set off of any loss;

(d) no tax credit shall be allowed against the tax payable under sub-section (1) except credit for tax under section 236A or 236K collected from the builder or developer after the commencement of the Tax Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 (1 of 2020) on purchase of immoveable property utilized in a project;

(e) there shall be no refund of any tax collected or deducted under this Ordinance;

(f) if the tax payable has not been paid or short paid, the said amount of tax may be recovered and all the provisions of this Ordinance shall apply accordingly; and

(g) section 113 and 113C shall not apply on the turnover, income, profits and gains of a builder or developer from a project.

(3) The provisions of section 111 shall not apply to capital investment made in a new project under clause (a) of sub-section (1) in the form of money or land, subject to the following conditions, namely:-

(a) if the investment is made by a builder or developer being an individual-

(i) in the form of money, such builder or developer shall open a new bank account and deposit such amount in it on or before the 31st day of December, 2020; or

(ii) in the form of land, such builder or developer shall have the ownership title of the land at the time of commencement of the Tax Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 (I of 2020);

(b) if the investment is made by a person in a project through a company or an association of persons,-

(i) such company or association of person shall be a single object (builder or developer) company or association of persons registered under the Companies Act, 2017 (XIX of 2017), the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2017 (XV of 2017) or the Partnership Act 1932 (IX of 1932), as the case may be, after the date of commencement of the Tax Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 (I of 2020) and on or before the 31st day of December, 2020; and

(ii) the person shall be a member or shareholder of such association of persons or company, as the case may be; and if the capital investment is made,-

(i) in the form of money, such amount shall be invested through a crossed banking instrument deposited in the bank account of such association of persons or company, as the case may be, no or before the 31st day of December, 2020; or

(ii) in the form of land, such land shall be transferred to such association of persons or company, as the case may be, on or before the 31st day of December, 2020:

Provided that the person shall have the ownership title of the land at the time of commencement of the Tax Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 (I of 2020)

(c) a person making an investment under clause (a) or (b) shall submit a prescribed form on Iris web portal;

(d) the money or land invested under clause (a) or (b) shall be wholly utilized in a project; and

(e) completion of the project shall be certified in the following manner, namely:-

(i) in case of a builder, the map approving authority or NESPAK shall certify that grey structure as per the approved map has been completed by the builder on or before the 30th day of September, 2022; and

(ii) in case of a develop,-

(A) the map approving authority or NESPAK shall certify that landscaping has been completed on or before the 30th day of September, 2022;

(B) a firm of chartered accountants having an ICAP QCR rating of ‘satisfactory’, notified by the Board for this purpose, shall certify that at least 50 percent of the plots have been booked for sale and at least 40 percent of the sale proceeds have been received by the 30th day of September, 2022; and

(C) at least 50 percent of the roads have been laid up to sub-grade level as certified by the approving authority of NESPAK.

(4) The provisions of section 111 shall also not apply to.-

(a) the first purchaser of a building or a unit of the building purchased from the builder in respect of purchase price of the building or unit of the building subject to the following conditions, namely:-

(i) full payment is made through a crossed banking instrument to the builder during a period starting from the date of registration of the project with the Board under this section and ending on the 30th day of September, 2022, in case the purchase is from a new project; and

(ii) full or balance amount of payment is made through a crossed banking instrument to the builder during a period starting from the date of registration of the project with the Board under this section and ending on the 30th day of September, 2022, in case the purchase is from an existing incomplete project; and

(b) the purchaser of a plot who intends to construct a building thereon, if-

(i) the purchase is made on a before the 31st day of December, 2020;

(ii) the full payment is made on or before the 31st day of December, 2020 through a crossed banking instrument;

(iii) construction on such plot is commenced on or before the 31st day of December, 2020;

(iv) such construction is completed on or before the 30th day of September, 2022;and

(v) the person registers himself with the Board on the online Iris web portal.

(5) Where sub-section (3) or (4) apply, the value or price of land or building, as the case may be, shall be the higher of clause (a) or (b) below:-

(a) 130 percent of the fair market value as determined by the Board under sub-section (4) of section 68; or

(b) at the option of the person making investment, the lower of the values as determined by at least two independent valuers from the list of valuers approved by the State Bank of Pakistan.

(6) Sub-sections (3) and (4) shall not apply to –

(a) holder of any public office as defined in the Voluntary Declaration of Domestic Assets Act, 2018 or his benamidar as defined in the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 2017 (V of 2017) or his spouse or dependents;

(b) a public listed company, a real estate investment trust or a company whose income is exempt under any provision of this Ordinance; or

(c) any proceeds derived from the commission of a criminal offence including the crimes of money laundering extortion or terror financing but excluding the offences under this Ordinance.

(7) Divided income paid to a person by a builder or developer being a company out of the profits and gains derived from a project shall be exempt from tax.

(8) Notwithstanding anything contained in this section or the Eleventh Schedule, where a return or declaration has been made through misrepresentation or suppression of facts, such return or declaration shall be void and all the provisions of this Ordinance shall apply:

Provided that no action under this sub-section shall be taken if such misrepresentation has been made on account of a bona fide mistake:

Provided further that no action under this sub-section shall be taken without providing an opportunity of being heard and without prior approval of the Board.

(9) In this section.-

(a) “builder” means a person who is registered as a builder with the Board and is engaged in the construction and disposal of residential or commercial buildings;

(b) “capital investment” means investment as equity resources and does not include borrowed funds;

(c) “developer” means a person who is registered as a developer with the Board and is engaged in the development of land in the form of plots of any kind either for itself or otherwise;

(d) “existing project” means a construction or development project, which-

(i) has commenced before the date of commencement of the Tax Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020;

(ii) is incomplete;

(iii) is completed on or before the 30th day of September, 2022;and

(iv) a declaration is provided in the registration from under Eleventh Schedule to the effect of percentage of the project completed up to the last day of the accounting period pertaining to tax year 2019;

(e) “first purchaser” means a person who purchases a building or a unit, as the case may be, directly from the builder and does not include a subsequent or a substituted purchaser;

(f) “new project” means a construction or development project, which-

(i) is commenced during the period starting from the date of commencement of the Tax Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 and ending on the 31st day of December, 2020; and

(ii) is competed on or before the 30th day of September, 2022;

(g) “project” means a project for construction of a building with the object of disposal, or a project for development of land into plots with the object of disposal or otherwise;

(h) “registered with the Board” means registered after submission of form on project-by-project basis on the online Iris web portal;

(10) The provisions of the Ordinance not specifically dealt with in this section or the rules made thereunder shall apply mutatis mutandis to builders and developers in so far as they are not inconsistent with this section or the rules made thereunder.

December 31, 2020
FBR facilitates taxpayers in updating profile; issues user guide

ISLAMABAD – The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has released comprehensive guidelines to facilitate taxpayers in updating their profiles, a mandatory requirement under the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001.
(more…)

December 31, 2020
FBR starts registration for grant of reduced tariff rate on electricity, gas supply

ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Wednesday said it is starting registration of manufacturers of export oriented sectors from January 01, 2021 for grant of reduced tariff rate on supply of electricity and gas.

In this connection the FBR issued standard operating procedure (SOP) to start the registration process.

In a notification, the FBR said that the economic coordination committee of the cabinet had approved the reduced rate to manufacturers on supply of electricity and gas in a meeting held on December 12, 2020. The ECC also directed the FBR, ministry of commerce and other stakeholders to devise a standard operating procedure (SOP) for enrollment of registered persons under the export-oriented sectors (erstwhile zero-rated sectors) to quality concessionary regime of electricity, RLNG and gas tariff.

Accordingly, a meeting was held in FBR on December 22, 2020 and as a result of thorough deliberations amongst all stakeholders the requisite SOP has been agreed upon and being rolled onto.

The FBR said the following SOP adopted for enrollment of manufacturers for grant of reduced tariff rate:

(i) For new registration of manufacturers for concessionary tariff rates, applicants may apply respective representative association.

(ii) The Association concerned, after verifying the particulars on the prescribed format, may forward the application along with its element recommendations, duly signed by its chairman/president, to the export oriented sector registration cell (ESRC) of the FBR.

(iii) The ESRC shall examine the particulars and recommendations of the respective associations and counter-verify particulars of the taxpayer including declarations in the registration profile etc. as required, and forward the case to the ministry of commerce for allowing concessionary tariff through respective Distribution Companies (DISCOs)/Gas companies.

(iv) In case the ESRC spots any discrepancies in the verification report and data available with the FBR, the matter will be referred to Inland Revenue field formations for ground-check, report and recommendations.

(v) The newly enrolled taxpayers shall be entitled to avail concessionary tariff prospectively.

(vi) The DISCOs/gas companies shall ensure that the taxpayers are active on FBR’s (Sales Tax) Active Taxpayers List (ATL) as shared with DISCOs/gas companies each month before generating the monthly utility bills. In case the taxpayer is found non-active on the ATL, standard utility tariff shall apply on supply of utilities for the relevant period.

(vii) Any taxpayer aspiring to avail concessionary utility rates and who is not registered with the respective sector association, may approach the Inland Revenue field formation concerned for verification of its business particulars and onward submission of report on the prescribed format to the RSRC within 15 days of the submission of the application.

The procedure for the registration of new entrants in export oriented sectors shall become applicable with effect from January 01, 2021.

Following is the list of export oriented sectors associations:

01. All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA)

02. Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers & Exporters Association (PRGMEA)

03. Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers Association (PHMA)

04. Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA)

05. Pakistan Leather Garments Manufacturers & Exporters Association (PLGMEA)

06. Pakistan Sports Goods Manufacturers & Exporters Association

07. Surgical Instruments Manufacturing Association of Pakistan

08. Pakistan Denim Manufacturers and Exporters Association

09. All Pakistan Textile Processing Mills Association (APTPMA)

December 31, 2020