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Tag: FBR

FBR, Pakistan’s national tax collecting agency, plays a crucial role in the country’s economy. Pakistan Revenue is committed to providing readers with the latest updates and developments regarding FBR activities.

  • Customs officials empowered using firearms in the line of duty

    Customs officials empowered using firearms in the line of duty

    ISLAMABAD: The government has authorized customs officials to use firearms in the line of duty to prevent smuggling and other illegal activities.

    In this regard a new sub-section 3 has been inserted to Customs Act, 1969 through Tax Laws (Second Amendment) Ordinance, 2019.

    Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Wednesday issued ‘Tax Laws (Second Amendment) Ordinance, 2019’ have been promulgated through the presidential order.

    The new sub-section shall be read as follow:

    “(3) For the execution of the above, the officers or officials shall be empowered to use all necessary force including use of firearms subject to Section 97 of the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860 in the line of duty.”

    Under Section 164 of the Customs Act, 1969, the customs officials were empowered to stop and search conveyances.

    The Section 164 is read as:

    164. Power to stop and search conveyances.- (1) Where the appropriate officer has reason to believe that within the territories of Pakistan(including territorial waters) any conveyance has been, is being or is about to be, used in the smuggling of any goods or in the carriage of any smuggled goods, he may at any time stop any such conveyance or, in the case of an aircraft, compel it to land, and –

    (a) rummage and search any part of the conveyance;

    (b) examine and search any goods thereon; and

    (c) break open the lock of any door, fixture or package for making search.

    (2) Where in the circumstances referred to in sub-section (1)-

    (a) it becomes necessary to stop any vessel or compel any aircraft to land, it shall be lawful of any vessel or aircraft in the service of the Government while flying her proper flag or bearing flag marks and any authority authorized in this behalf by the Federal Government to summon such vessel to stop or the aircraft to land, by means of an international signal, code or other recognized means, and thereupon such vessel shall forthwith stop or such aircraft shall forthwith land, and if it fails to do so chase may be given thereto by any vessel or aircraft as aforesaid and if after a gun is fired as a signal, the vessel fails to stop or the aircraft fails to land, it may be fired upon;

    (b) it becomes necessary to stop any conveyance other than a vessel or aircraft, the appropriate officer may use or cause to be used all lawful means for stopping it or preventing its escape including, if all other means fail, firing upon it.

    The new sub-section shall be included:

    “(3) For the execution of the above, the officers or officials shall be empowered to use all necessary force including use of firearms subject to Section 97 of the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860 in the line of duty.”

  • Tax Amendment Ordinance: 14-year jail, penalty of ten time of value for currency smuggling

    Tax Amendment Ordinance: 14-year jail, penalty of ten time of value for currency smuggling

    ISLAMABAD: The government has introduced very harsh penalties for offence of currency smuggling. The government enhanced the jail term to 14 years for currency smuggling above $200,000 besides ten time of value of the currency would be recovered as penalty.

    Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Wednesday issued ‘Tax Laws (Second Amendment) Ordinance, 2019’ have been promulgated through the presidential order.

    The following are the penal action for offences/smuggling introduced through the ordinance by amending Customs Act, 1969:

    (a) If the amount of the currency over and above the permissible limit is up to $10,000 or equivalent in value (currency of other denomination) etc.

    Such currency shall be liable to confiscation and any person concerned in the offence shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding the value of the excess amount of the currency.

    (b) If the amount of the currency over and above the permissible limit is up to $10,001 to $20,000 or equivalent in value (currency of other denomination) etc.

    Such currency shall be liable to confiscation and any person concerned in the offence shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding two times the value of the excess amount of the currency.

    (c) If the amount of the currency over and above the permissible limit is $20,001 to $50,000 or equivalent in value (currency of other denomination) etc.

    Such currency shall be liable to confiscation and any person concerned in the offence shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding three times the value of the currency; and upon conviction by a Special Judge he shall further be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years.

    (d) If the amount of the currency over and above the permissible limit is $50,001 to $100,000 or equivalent in value (currency of other denomination) etc.

    Such currency shall be liable to confiscation and any person concerned in the offence shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding four times the value of the currency; and upon conviction by a Special Judge he shall further be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years.

    (e) If the amount of the currency over and above the permissible limit is $100,001 to $200,000 or equivalent in value (currency of other denomination) etc.

    Such currency shall be liable to confiscation and any person concerned in the offence shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding five times the value of the currency; and upon conviction by a Special Judge he shall further be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years. Provided further that the sentence of the imprisonment shall not be less than three years.

    (f) If the amount of the currency over and above the permissible limit exceeds $200,000 or equivalent in value (currency of other denomination) etc.

    Such currency shall be liable to confiscation and any person concerned in the offence shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding ten times the value of the currency; and upon conviction by a Special Judge he shall further be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding fourteen years. Provided further that the sentence of the imprisonment shall not be less than five years.

  • FBR drafts rules for risk based customs clearance

    FBR drafts rules for risk based customs clearance

    ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has drafted Risk Management System Rules for customs clearance of cargo to comply with Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) of World Trade Organization (WTO).

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  • FBR implements duty exemption/concession under 2nd Phase Pak-China FTA

    FBR implements duty exemption/concession under 2nd Phase Pak-China FTA

    ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Tuesday issued concessionary rates for 6,786 tariff lines for goods imported under Second Phase of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Pakistan and China.

    The notified rates will be effective from January 01, 2020 for next 15 years i.e. December 31, 2034.

    The FBR issued SRO 1640(I)/2019 to implement the revised customs duties for goods imported from China.

    The SRO said:

    “S.R.O.1640(I)/2019.- In exercise of the powers conferred by section 19 of the Customs Act,1969 (IV of 1969), and in supersession of Notification No. S.R.O. 659(I)/2007,dated the 30th, June, 2007, the Federal Government is pleased to exempt, with effect from the first day of January, 2020, unless specified otherwise, the import into Pakistan from Peoples Republic of China of the goods specified in column (3) of the Table below, falling under the Heading and sub-Heading numbers of the First Schedule to the said Act as specified in column (2) of the said Table, from so much of the customs duty specified in the First Schedule as on the 1st January , 2020 to the said Act as in excess of the rates specified in columns (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11), (12), (13), (14), (15), (16), (17) or (18) of the Table with effect from the corresponding date:

    “Provided that the goods are manufactured or produced and imported in conformity with the Rules of Determination of Origin of Goods and the operational certification procedures for the Rules of Origin notified by the Ministry of Commerce vide No. S.R.O. 1286(I)/ 2005, dated the 24th December, 2005 read with the Import Policy Order, 2016:-

    The second phase of China-Pakistan FTA came into effect earlier this month, allowing Pakistani manufacturers and traders to export more than 300 new products to the Chinese market for zero duty charges.

    The two neighboring countries have already completed all legal procedures and formalities to start implementation of the agreement.

    Pakistan and China signed a protocol for implementation of the agreement during the last visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to China.

    Pakistan is already enjoying zero duty on export of 724 products to China under the first FTA signed between the two countries in 2006.

    The major products on which tariff has been eliminated are textiles, garments, seafood, meat, other animal products, prepared food, leather, chemicals, plastics, oilseeds, footwear as well as engineering goods including tractors, auto parts, and home appliance machinery.

  • FBR extends return filing date up to January 31

    FBR extends return filing date up to January 31

    ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) granted fifth extension for filing income tax return for tax year 2019 up to January 31, 2020.

    The FBR issued Income Tax Circular No. 18 of 2019 for extension in date of filing income tax returns/statements for tax year 2019.

    The FBR said that the date of filing of return of total income / statements of final taxation for individuals and associations of persons for the tax year 2019 which was due on September 30, 2019 and extended up to December 31, 2019 has been extended up to January 31, 2020.

    The FBR further said that the date of filing of return of total income/statements of final taxation for companies for the tax year 2019, which was due on September 30, 2019 and extended up to December 31, 2019, in respect of those companies who have paid 90 percent of the admitted tax liability on or before September 30, 2019, has been allowed further extension up to January 31, 2020.

    The date of filing of return of total income/statements of final taxation for companies for tax year 2019, which was due on December 31, 2019 has also been extended up to January 31, 2020.

  • FBR collects Rs2,080 billion in first half at 16% growth

    FBR collects Rs2,080 billion in first half at 16% growth

    ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has collected Rs2,080 billion during first half (July – December) 2019/2020 as compared with Rs1,795 billion in the corresponding half of the last fiscal year, showing a growth of 16 percent.

    FBR chairman Syed Shabbar Zaidi in a tweet message said that the revenue body collected Rs2,080 billion up to December 31, 2019 posting 16 percent growth.

    On the basis of above data, the FBR collected Rs463 billion during December 2019 as compared with Rs411 billion in the same month of the last year, posting 12.65 percent growth.

    The FBR was required to collect Rs2,198 billion during first half of the current fiscal year as per revised performance criteria of International Monetary Fund (IMF).

    Considering the performance criteria the FBR’s revenue shortfall was at Rs118 billion during first half of the current fiscal year.

    According to Country Report Pakistan released by IMF on Monday the actual performance criteria for revenue collection was Rs2,367 billion during first half (July – December) of current fiscal year, which has been revised downward by Rs169 billion to Rs2,198 billion.

    As per IMF documents the FBR failed to achieve the first quarter (July – September) 2019/2020 target of Rs1,071 billion and its collection was at Rs964 billion.

    The actual revenue collection target for current fiscal year was Rs5,550 billion. However, the indicative target as per IMF documents has also been revised downward to Rs5,238 billion.

    The FBR has to raise revenue collection to Rs3,520 billion by March 2020 in order to ensure the desired target for current fiscal year.

    As per IMF documents: “Tax revenue is now expected to be 0.5 percent of GDP lower than originally expected: while domestic collection is envisaged to remain strong, growing by over 25 percent y-o-y over FY 2020, growth in trade-related tax revenues is expected to remain subdued as declining imports continue to weigh on collections—more than 40 percent of total tax revenue in Pakistan is collected at the import stage.”

    The FBR has been given revised Indicative Targets for end December 2019 including net tax collection to recognize the faster than expected external adjustment negatively impacting customs revenue, besides net accumulation of tax refund arrears to capture the authorities plan to reflect the end-June stock of tax refund arrears.

  • Will FBR further extend return filing date to match record?

    Will FBR further extend return filing date to match record?

    KARACHI: Today i.e. December 31, 2019 is the last date for filing income tax returns for tax year 2019 and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) may not able to reach 2.74 million returns of tax year 2018.

    The income tax return filing for tax year 2018 has increase to a new record level of 2.74 million by December 29, 2019, as shown in the Active Taxpayers List (ATL) issued on December 30, 2019.

    The FBR received 1.8 million tax returns for tax year 2019 by December 12, 2019 and it is apparently difficult for the revenue authorities to reach the record level in 18 days.

    Tax experts said that the FBR had set a target of 3.5 million returns for tax year 2019. To achieve this number the FBR has to extend the return filing date.

    The last date for filing of income tax return other than companies was September 30, 2019 since then the FBR granted four extensions to facilitate taxpayers.

    All the taxpayers including companies to file their returns by mid-night December 31, 2019.

    It is interesting to note that no tax body or business associations have asked the FBR to further extend the date beyond December 31, 2019.

    The income tax return filing reached to a new record high of 2.74 million as people making compliance to avoid 100 percent additional tax on persons not appearing on Active Taxpayers List (ATL).

    Sources in Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) attributed the record increase in return filing to the amendment to Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 through Finance Act, 2019.

    In the last budget 2019/2020 a new Tenth Schedule was inserted to Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 under which persons not appearing on ATL would liable to pay 100 percent more withholding tax on certain transactions.

    The ATL for tax year 2018 issued on March 01, 2019 in which 1.59 million names were appeared of those taxpayer, who filed their returns by due date.

    However, later the FBR granted extension in date for filing returns due to introduction of a tax amnesty scheme.

    The extension for filing income tax returns for tax year 2018 was granted up to August 09, 2019.

    The return filing up to August 09, 2019 for tax year 2018 jumped up to 2.5 million from 1.59 million returns, which were part of the first ATL issued March 01, 2019.

    The insertion of Tenth Schedule to Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 speed up the return filing by taxpayers in order to avoid higher tax rate on certain transactions.

    Previously, people filing their annual income tax returns after due date were not allowed to appear on the ATL. However, another provision was added to the main statute under which persons by paying penalty can include their name to ATL.

  • FBR suspends two officers of preventive Lahore

    FBR suspends two officers of preventive Lahore

    ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Monday suspended two customs officers of Model Customs Collectorate (MCC) Preventive, Lahore with immediate effect.

    The FBR suspended the BS-16 officers including Muzaffar Hussain and Khalid Pervaiz Bhutta for a period of three months.

    The revenue body suspended the officers using powers under Rule 5(1) of the Government Servants (Efficiency & Discipline) Rules, 1973.

  • FBR’s field offices directed to update employees’ database

    FBR’s field offices directed to update employees’ database

    KARACHI – The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has issued a directive to all field offices of Pakistan Customs and Inland Revenue, emphasizing the urgent need to update employee data.

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  • Meeting discusses tax rates on immovable properties

    Meeting discusses tax rates on immovable properties

    ISLAMABAD: A meeting chaired by Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue, discussed proposals related to tax rates on properties, and realization of property valuation tables.

    The adviser met a delegation of Association of Builders and Developers of Pakistan (ABAD) in this regard.

    The delegation was represented by Hassan Bakhshi, various proposals were presented that could enhance and boost the property business in the country and improve tax collection for the government.

    The proposals were regarding taxation rates on property, building height restrictions in Karachi and rationalization of Property valuation tables and some other policy related exemptions that could help in smooth functioning of the property business and further accelerate the economic activity in the country.

    The adviser to the Prime Minister discussed the proposals in detail with the delegation and after taking the views of the Chairman FBR, assured the members of the delegation that all possible help will be provided to the sector keeping in view the principles of equity, transparency and fair play.

    The adviser said that he realizes the importance of the business and wants to engage more with the sector for better facilitation and understanding.

    He directed the delegation to further refine their proposals for a positive outcome and meet again in the second week of January so that the matters could progress ahead.