Karachi, November 21, 2024 – The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Thursday issued a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for penalizing persons not appearing on the Active Taxpayers List (ATL). The FBR issued the SOP on the directives of the Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) to streamline the process of penalizing non-ATL persons by publishing their names in the Income Tax General Order (ITGO).
Standard Operating Procedure for the Implementation of Income Tax General Order under Section 114B of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001
The FBR said that the following standard operating procedure is to be observed for the issuance and implementation of the Income Tax General Order under Section 114B of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001:
1. Identification and Verification of Non-ATL Persons: A list of non-filers for a certain tax year, based on various benchmarks, will be extracted from the FBR’s database through PRAL. This list will be communicated to the field formations for further scrutiny.
2. Verification Regarding Issuance of Notice u/s 114 and Non-Filer Status from the Field Formations: Upon communication to the field formations, verification will be sought regarding the eligibility of cases to be included in the Income Tax General Order. Chief Commissioners will be requested to verify if all legal and codal formalities have been fulfilled.
3. Issuance of Certificate by Concerned Chief Commissioners Regarding Non-Filer Status: A certificate will be issued by all Chief Commissioners, along with the list of cases to be included in the Income Tax General Order, verifying and validating the eligibility of all included cases.
4. Issuance of Income Tax General Order by FBR: An Income Tax General Order will be issued by the Board, entailing one or more consequences stipulated in Section 114B(2), with clear directions to the relevant service providers for immediate implementation of the issued order.
5. Communication of ITGO to the Concerned Service Providers: The Income Tax General Order (ITGO) will be formally communicated to the concerned service providers, including telecommunication operators and utility companies. The service providers will be directed to implement the ITGO with immediate effect, and a compliance report will be sought from them within a specified timeframe.
6. Procedure to Be Adopted in Case of Non-Compliance: In the case of non-compliance, legal action will be taken against the service provider as per the provisions of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, including, but not limited to, prosecution under Section 196 and the imposition of penalties under Section 182 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001.
7. Monitoring of Enforcement Outcome: The enforcement of the ITGO will be monitored by a dedicated team within the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). This team will track compliance, gather data on the effectiveness of the order, and report on the outcomes. Regular updates will be provided to higher authorities.
8. Reactivation of Service: The FBR will automatically communicate the list of taxpayers who have filed their tax returns to the service providers on a daily basis. The concerned service provider will then reactivate the service within 1 to 2 business days.
9. Peculiar Cases: In case a taxpayer has filed their Income Tax Return for the concerned tax year, but their service remains suspended within the next 3 business days, or if there is any other objection regarding the suspension of their service, they should convey their grievance to the concerned Commissioner. The Commissioner will analyze the case in detail and report to the Board for resolution if the grievance is genuine. Alternatively, the taxpayer can contact the office of the issuing authority of the concerned ITGO.
