ISLAMABAD: The annual income tax return filing hit all time high of 3.11 million, according to the last weekly updated Active Taxpayers List (ATL) for Tax Year 2019 issued by Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
The FBR updated the last weekly ATL for tax year 2019 on February 22, 2021 and received record number on the basis of return filed up to February 21, 2021.
The FBR is scheduled to launch ATL for tax year 2020 on March 01, 2021. Therefore, more returns may be filed for tax year 2019 by February 28, 2021.
The FBR launches ATL every year on March 01 which carries names of those persons filed their income tax returns for immediate past tax year.
Previously, the FBR received 2.8 million income tax returns for tax year 2018 up to February 16, 2020. This shows an 11 percent increase in return filing when compared the two periods.
The FBR on February 24, 2021 announced it will launch the ATL for tax year 2020 on March 01, 2020 on the basis of income tax returns filed by due date or returns filed after due date (till February 28, 2021) with payment of surcharge.
The FBR received income tax returns around 2.52 million for tax year 2020 up to January 30, 2021. However, this number will increase as the ATL 2020 will remain applicable till February 28, 2022.
The revenue body said that persons included in the ATL have various benefits such as exemption from withholding tax at the time of cash withdrawal. Further, other banking transactions and payment of educational fees are also exempted from withholding tax for those persons whose names are on the ATL.
Similarly, those persons appeared on the ATL are entitled to pay reduced rate of withholding tax in making transactions including imports, profits, services, contracts, profit on debt, prizes, purchase of motor vehicles and immovable properties etc.
The FBR said that names of those persons would be included in the ATL-2020 who filed their annual returns within given deadline or filed within extended date given by Commissioner Inland Revenue.
The revenue body said that the ATL is being updated on weekly basis and available on the official website and mobile applications.
Those individuals and companies that failed to make compliance of return filing by due date or extended date given by commissioners Inland Revenue would require to pay surcharges for appearance on the ATL.
The rate of surcharge is Rs20,000 for corporate entities and Rs10,000 for Association of Persons, the FBR added.
