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Tag: Federal Board of Revenue

The Federal Board of Revenue is Pakistan’s apex tax agency, overseeing tax collection and policies. Pakistan Revenue is committed to providing timely updates on the Federal Board of Revenue to its readers.

  • New fixed tax regime for builders and developers

    New fixed tax regime for builders and developers

    KARACHI: The government has launched the incentive package for construction industry and introduced a fixed tax regime for builders and developers.

    The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) issued Tax Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020, which was promulgated through presidential order to amend Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 in order to provide tax incentives.

    According to commentary on the new ordinance issued by PWC A F Ferguson Chartered Accountants a new provision section 100D has been introduced in the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, prescribing a scheduler based fixed tax regime for Builders and Developers on the basis of project area in respect of their income from sale of building or sale of plots, for tax year 2020 and onwards.

    Necessary rules to that effect have been enacted by way of insertion of Eleventh Schedule to the Ordinance.

    Similar to other scheduler based taxation provisions, all other provisions of the Ordinance (including recovery of tax not paid and matters connected therewith) not specifically covered under section 100D and Eleventh Schedule will remain applicable on Builders and Developers.

    A similar fixed tax regime for builders and developers whereby tax was payable on the basis of area was also introduced though Finance Act, 2016 by way of sections 7C and 7D of the Ordinance, which was subsequently restricted through Finance Act, 2017 to only such Projects, which were initiated and approved during tax year 2017.

    As such, builders and developers not covered by sections 7C and 7D were required to pay tax on net income basis.

    The provisions of section 100D read with Eleventh Schedule to the Ordinance are applicable to all Builders and Developers, who opts for such taxation and are registered with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on a Project-by-Project basis (hereinafter referred to as ‘eligible project/project’ as the context so requires).

    For the eligible projects, the builder or developer will pay tax on the income from the sale of buildings or sale of plots, as the case may be, in respect of:

    (a) a new project to be completed by September 30, 2022; or

    (b) an incomplete existing project to be completed by September 30, 2022.

    However, income, profits and gains earned up to tax year 2019 from incomplete existing projects will remain subject to the provisions of the Ordinance before the commencement of the Amendment Ordinance.

    Any income of the builder or developer other than income subject to special tax regime of the Eleventh Schedule shall be subject to tax as per normal provisions of the Ordinance.

    Computation of income and annual tax payable thereon at the fixed rates under the regime is to be made on a Project-by-Project basis as Final Tax.

    Such income, being subject to final tax regime, shall not be chargeable to tax under any head of income in computing the taxable income.

    No deduction for any expenditure, deductible allowance or set-off of any loss will be allowed. Tax credits are also not allowed against tax payable except for tax collected from the builder or developer under section 236K of the Ordinance after the commencement of the Amendment Ordinance on purchase of immovable property utilized in eligible projects. No refund of any taxes suffered is allowed.

  • Illicit money given amnesty through package to construction industry

    Illicit money given amnesty through package to construction industry

    ISLAMABAD: The government has given an amnesty to illicit money in case of investment made into to construction industry as no question of money to be asked under Income Tax Ordinance, 2001.

    Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Monday issued the Tax Laws (Amendment) Ordinance No.1 of 2020 after the approval from the president.

    The ordinance says that it was being promulgated, “whereas, the COVID-19 pandemic has created a worldwide crisis due to which industries, businesses, offices, service has been shut down in Pakistan and economic activity is at a standstill.”

    “And whereas, in order to protect and revive the economy of Pakistan, it is essential and critical to give incentives for revival of the construction industry with certain conditions as provided for in this ordinance.”

    Amendment has been made to Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 under which Section 111 shall not apply to the first purchaser of a building or a unit and capital investment made in a new project in the form of money or land.

    Section 111 of the Ordinance deals with concealed or undeclared money whereas harsh penalties under the ordinance have been outlined for undeclared money.

    According to the sub-Section 3 of Tax Laws (Amendment) Ordinance No.1 of 2020, the provisions of Section 111 shall not apply to capital investment made in a new project in the form of money or land, subject to 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;

    (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 persons shall be single object (builder or developer) company or association of persons registered under the Companies Act, 2017 or the Partnership Act, 1932, as the case may be, after the date of commencement of the Tax Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 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, on o 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;

    (c) a person making an investment under the ordinance shall submit a prescribed form on IRIS web portal;

    (d) a person making an investment shall be wholly utilized in 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 developer

    (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, 2020; and

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

    The sub-Section 4 of the latest ordinance said that 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 or 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 of 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.

    The sub-Section 5 of the latest ordinance said that sub-Section (3) or (4) apply, the value or price of land or building, as the case may be, shall be 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.

    Sub-Section 6 of the ordinance stated that Sub-Section (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 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 the 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 the ordinance.

  • FBR promotes 35 DEOs to MIS Officer BS-16

    FBR promotes 35 DEOs to MIS Officer BS-16

    ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Monday notified promotions of 35 Data Entry Operators (BS-14) to the post of MIS Officer (BS-16) on regular basis with immediate effect.

    The following officers have been promoted to the post of MIS Officers:

    01. Agha Zafar Ullah, Regional Tax Office, Sukkur

    02. M Latif Awan, Data Processing Center (Income Tax), Karachi.

    03. Tanveer Ahmed Awan, Large Taxpayers Unit, Karachi.

    04. Mirza Adnan Baig, Corporate Regional Tax Office, Karachi.

    05. Amanullah Khan, Directorate of Intelligence and Investigation (Inland Revenue), Lahore.

    06. Muhammad Asim Bashir, Large Taxpayers Unit, Lahore.

    07. Syed Hassan Riaz, Data Processing Center (Income Tax), Lahore.

    08. Waseem Shafiq, Data Processing Center (Income Tax), Karachi.

    09. Kamran Sabir, Regional Tax Office, Quetta.

    10. Irshad Hussain, Regional Tax Office-III, Karachi.

    11. Muhammad Ayub, Data Processing Center (Income Tax), Karachi.

    12. Muhammad Mukarram, Data Processing Center (Income Tax), Karachi.

    13. Nahid Sultana, Data Processing Center (Income Tax), Karachi.

    14. Rashid Ishaq, Regional Tax Office, Faisalabad.

    15. Mst. Abida Aslam Rathore, Directorate of Research and Statistics, Islamabad.

    16. Muhammad Riaz, Corporate Regional Tax Office, Lahore.

    17. Muhammad Nisar, Data Processing Unit (Income Tax), Gujranwala.

    18. Danish Muhammad Khan, Large Taxpayers Unit-II, Karachi.

    19. Tasadduq Hussain, Regional Tax Office, Islamabad.

    20. Rashid Maqbool, Large Taxpayers Unit, Lahore.

    21. Furqan Khan, Large Taxpayers Unit, Lahore.

    22. Asif Mehmood, Data Processing Center (Income Tax), Lahore.

    23. Nisar Rasheed, Data Processing Center (Income Tax), Lahore.

    24. Agha Mehboob Abbas, Regional Tax Office, Rawalpindi.

    25. Kh, Altaf ur Rehman, Data Processing Unit (Income Tax), Multan.

    26. Yaseen Panhwar, Regional Tax Office, Hyderabad.

    27. Shah Qaiser Sheikh, Regional Tax Office-II, Lahore.

    28. Faiz Hussain Qureshi, Corporate Regional Tax Office, Lahore.

    29. Tariq Javed Khan Niazi, Corporate Regional Tax Office, Lahore.

    30. Muhammad Sohail, Large Taxpayers Unit, Lahore.

    31. Javed Rashid, Corporate Regional Tax Office, Lahore.

    32. Abdul Waheed, Large Taxpayers Unit, Lahore.

    33. Tahir Ali Khan, Directorate of Intelligence and Investigation (Inland Revenue), Lahore.

    34. Khalid Mehmood S/o Muhammad Qasim, Directorate of Intelligence and Investigation (Inland Revenue), Lahore.

    35. Tajamal Abbas, Reginoal Tax Office, Faisalabad.

    The FBR said that the officers would be on probation for a period of one year, extendable for a further period not exceeding one year, provided that if no order is issued by the day following the termination of probationary period, the appointment shall be deemed to be held until further orders.

    The officers already drawing performance allowance equal to 100 percent of the basic pay will continue to draw the same on their promotion.

    The FBR congratulates the officers on their promotion.

  • FBR collects Rs71.21 billion as regulatory duty in last fiscal year

    FBR collects Rs71.21 billion as regulatory duty in last fiscal year

    KARACHI: The customs authorities have collected Rs71.21 billion as regulatory duty during fiscal year 2018/2019, said Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) in a report released recently.

    The collection of regulatory duty increased by 12 percent to Rs71.21 billion in fiscal year 2018/2019 as compared with Rs63.58 billion in the preceding fiscal year.

    The share of regulatory duty in total customs collection in fiscal year 2018/2019 was 10.36 percent. This ratio was at 10.45 percent to the total customs duty in fiscal year 2017/2018.

    The total collection of customs duty was Rs685.57 billion in fiscal year 2018/2019 as compared with Rs608.37 billion in the preceding fiscal year, showing increase of 12.7 percent.

    The collection of customs duty also includes warehouse surcharge, regulatory duty, export development surcharge and export duties.

    The customs authorities collected Rs1.06 billion as warehouse surcharge in fiscal year 2018/2019 as compared with Rs853 million.

    An amount of Rs7.69 billion as export development surcharge during fiscal year 2018/2019 as compared with Rs6.13 billion in the preceding fiscal year.

    Besides, the authorities also collected Rs816 million as export duties during fiscal year 2018/2019 as compared with Rs859 million in the fiscal year 2017/2018.

  • Tax to GDP ratio to ease at 11pc as COVID19 losses estimated at Rs1,023bn

    Tax to GDP ratio to ease at 11pc as COVID19 losses estimated at Rs1,023bn

    ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s tax to GDP ratio likely fall to 11 percent as losses due to coronavirus lockdown on tax revenue has been estimated at around Rs1,023 billion in current fiscal year.

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  • FBR extends date for sales tax payment, return for March

    FBR extends date for sales tax payment, return for March

    ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has extended the date for payment and filing sales tax monthly return for the month of March 2020.

    In a circular issued on Saturday, the FBR extended the last date for making payment of sales tax up to April 27, 2020, which was due on April 15, 2020.

    Similarly, the FBR extended the last date for filing sales tax monthly return up to April 30, 2020, which was due on April 18, 2020.

    The FBR facilitated the taxpayers in making sales tax payment and filing return due to lockdown to contain coronavirus.

    The government extended the lockdown period up to April 30, 2020 in order to contain the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic.

  • Tax collection from phone services jumps up 630 percent

    Tax collection from phone services jumps up 630 percent

    ISLAMABAD: The collection of withholding tax from phone subscribers registered a phenomenal increase of 630 percent to Rs27 billion during first half of the current fiscal year, according to data made available to PkRevenue.com

    The sources in Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) told that the restoration of withholding tax on phone usage by the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SBP) helped the tax authorities to generate substantial amount during the period under review.

    The data revealed that the FBR collected withholding tax to the tune of Rs27 billion during first six months (July – December) 2019/2020 as compared with Rs3.7 billion collection in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.

    The FBR collects withholding tax on telephone usage under Section 236 of Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 from telephone subscribers and internet.

    The tax rate is zero percent on monthly bill up to Rs1,000. However the bill exceeding Rs1,000 shall liable to tax rate at 10 percent.

    In case subscriber of internet, mobile telephone and pre-paid internet or telephone card the tax rate shall be 12.5 percent of the amount of bill or sales price of internet pre-paid card or prepaid telephone card or sale of units through any electronic medium or whatever form.

    The phone companies preparing bills or selling prepaid cards are responsible to collect withholding tax on behalf of the FBR from telephone subscribers, internet subscribers, purchaser of internet prepaid cards.

    The withholding tax collected from phone usage is adjustable against the taxpayers’ liability.

    The FBR incurred a loss of Rs55 billion in 2018/2019 due to suspension of withholding tax on telecommunication services by the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

  • FBR amends list for exemption on equipment for coronavirus prevention

    FBR amends list for exemption on equipment for coronavirus prevention

    In a continued effort to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has issued an updated list of duty and tax-exempt items crucial for the prevention and control of the virus.

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  • FBR exempts withholding tax on commission for Ehsaas Program

    FBR exempts withholding tax on commission for Ehsaas Program

    ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has exempted the withholding tax on commission agent for disbursement of Ehsaas Emergency Program.

    The FBR issued SRO 315(I)/2020 dated April 16, 2020 to make amendment to Second Schedule of Income Tax Ordinance, 2001.

    According to the amendment, a new clause 102A inserted to Part IV of the Second Schedule, which stated: “The provisions of Section 233 shall not apply to commission received by a retail branchless banking agent on any amount disbursed by the Ehsaas Emergency Cash Transfer Program for the period commencing on the date of issuance of this notification and ending on the 30th day of June, 2020.”

    The Section 233 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 explains application of withholding tax on brokerage and commission.

    Where any payment on account of brokerage or commission is made by the Federal Government, a Provincial Government, a Local Government, a company or an association of persons constituted by, or under any law (hereinafter called the “principal”) to a person (hereinafter called the “agent”), the principal shall deduct advance tax at the rate specified in Division II of Part IV of the First Schedule from such payment.

    If the agent retains Commission or brokerage from any amount remitted by him to the principal, he shall be deemed to have been paid the commission or brokerage by the principal and the principal shall collect advance tax from the agent.

  • Tax collection from cash withdrawal falls by 52 percent

    Tax collection from cash withdrawal falls by 52 percent

    ISLAMABAD: The collection of withholding income tax from cash withdrawal from banks fell by 52 percent during first half of the current fiscal year as the government withdrew the levy on active taxpayers.

    The collection of withholding income tax fell to Rs8.6 billion during July – December of current fiscal year 2019/2020 as compared with Rs17.8 billion collected in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year, according to official data.

    Through Finance Act, 2019, the imposition of withholding tax on cash withdrawal by active taxpayers was eliminated in order to encourage income tax return filing.

    However, the withholding tax rate at the rate of 0.6 percent is still leviable on persons not appearing on the active taxpayers list issued by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

    At present every banking company is required under Section 231A of Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 to collect withholding tax at 0.6 percent on payment for cash withdrawal, or sum total of payment for cash withdrawal, in a day, exceeding Rs50,000 for persons not appearing the Active Taxpayers List (ATL).

    The same rate of 0.6 percent is applicable under Section 231AA and Section 231AA of the Ordinance on sale against cash of any instrument including demand draft, payment order, CDR, STDR, RTC, any other instrument of bearer nature or on receipt of cash on cancellation of any of these instruments where sum total of transactions exceeds Rs, 25,000 in a day, for persons not appearing in the Active Taxpayers’ List and transfer of any sum against cash through online transfer, telegraphic transfer mail transfer or any other mode of electronic transfer, where sum total of transactions exceed Rs. 25,000/-in a day, for persons not appearing in the Active Payers’ List.