KARACHI: The tax exemption regime transposed into tax credit regime and certain businesses have been allowed 100 percent tax credit with mandatory requirement of income tax return filing.
Chartered Accountants at PwC A. F. Ferguson & Co. in a commentary on Tax Laws (Second Amendment) Ordinance, 2021 said that income / profits and gains of the following persons were exempt from tax under Part I of the Second Schedule to the Ordinance:
(i) persons engaged in coal mining projects in Sindh supplying coal exclusively to power generation projects – clause (132B);
(ii) a startup (as defined in section 2(62A) of the Ordinance) for the tax year in which the startup is certified by the Pakistan Software Export Board and the next following two tax years – clause (143); and
(iii) persons deriving income from exports of computer software or IT services or IT enabled services (as defined) up to the period ending on June 30, 2025; provided that 80 percent of the export proceeds is brought into Pakistan in foreign exchange remitted from outside Pakistan through normal banking channels- clause (133).
Through the Amendment Ordinance, the exemptions have been transposed into tax credit regime whereby the aforementioned persons shall be allowed a tax credit equal to 100 percent of the tax payable including minimum and final taxes for the period upon fulfillment of the following conditions:
(a) return has been filed;
(b) tax required to be deducted or collected has been deducted or collected and paid;
(c) withholding tax statements for the immediately preceding tax year have been filed; and
(d) sales tax returns for the tax periods corresponding to relevant tax year have been filed.
They said that it has also been provided that the benefit contained in this newly inserted section shall not preclude the aforesaid persons’ case from audit selection by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) or the Commissioner Inland Revenue.
Since these taxpayers are now allowed 100 percent tax credit against tax payable (including minimum tax), tax exemption presently available to them (under Part I of the Second Schedule) has been withdrawn whereas relevant clauses for exemption from turnover tax of section 113(provided under Part IV of the Second Schedule) though not withdrawn have effectively become redundant.
