A tax has been imposed on persons receiving dividends in Pakistan. The tax has been levied under Section 5 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001.
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) issued the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 updated up to June 30, 2022 after incorporating changes made through Finance Act, 2022.
The following is text of Section 5 of the Ordinance, 2001:
Section 5. Tax on dividends.— (1) Subject to this Ordinance, a tax shall be imposed, at the rate specified in Division III of Part I of the First Schedule, on every person who receives a dividend from a company or treated as dividend under clause (19) of section 2.
(2) The tax imposed under sub-section (1) on a person who receives a dividend shall be computed by applying the relevant rate of tax to the gross amount of the dividend.
(3) This section shall not apply to a dividend that is exempt from tax under this Ordinance.
Rate of Dividend Tax
The rate of tax imposed under section 5 on dividend received from a company shall be-
(a) 7.5% in the case of dividends paid by Independent Power Producers where such dividend is a pass through item under an Implementation Agreement or Power Purchase Agreement or Energy Purchase Agreement and is required to be reimbursed by Central Power Purchasing (CPPA-G) or its predecessor or successor entity.
(b) 15% in mutual funds, Real Estate Investment Trusts and cases other than those mentioned in clauses (a), (c) and (d).
(c) 0% in case of dividend received by a REIT scheme from Special Purpose Vehicle and 35% in case of dividend received by others from Special Purpose Vehicle as defined under the Real Estate Investment Trust Regulations, 2015.
(d) 25% in case of a person receiving dividend from a company where no tax payable by such company, due to exemption of income or carry forward of business losses under Part VIII of Chapter III or claim of tax credits under Part X of Chapter III.
Section 5A of the Ordinance, 2001 deals with taxation on undistributed profits. Following is the text of Section 5A:
Section 5A. Tax on undistributed profits.—(1) For tax years 2017 to 2019, a tax shall be imposed at the rate of five percent of its accounting profit before tax on every public company, other than a scheduled bank or a modaraba, that derives profit for a tax year but does not distribute at least twenty percent of its after tax profits within six months of the end of the tax year through cash:
Provided that for tax year 2017, bonus shares or cash dividends may be distributed before the due date mentioned in sub-section (2) of section 118, for filing of a return.
(2) The provisions of sub-section (1) shall not apply to—
(a) a company qualifying for exemption under clause (132) of Part I of the Second Schedule; and
(b) a company in which not less than fifty percent shares are held by the Government.
Likewise Section 5AA of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 deales with tax on return on investment in sukuk. Following is the text of Section 5AA:
Section 5AA. Tax on return on investments in sukuks.—(1) Subject to this Ordinance, a tax shall be imposed, at the rate specified in Division IIIB of Part I of the First Schedule, on every person who receives a return on investment in sukuks from a special purpose vehicle, or a company.
(2) The tax imposed under sub-section (1) on a person who receives a return on investment in sukuks shall be computed by applying the relevant rate of tax to the gross amount of the return on investment in sukuks.
(3) This section shall not apply to a return on investment in sukuks that is exempt from tax under this Ordinance.”
Rate of Tax on Return on investment in sukuks received from a special purpose vehicle
The rate of tax imposed under section 5AA on return on investment in sukuks received from a special purpose vehicle shall be—
(a) 25% in the case the sukuk-holder is a company;
(b) 12.5% in case the sukuk-holder is an individual or an association of person, if the return on investment is more than one million; and
(c) 10% in case the sukuk-holder is an individual and an association of person, if the return on investment is less than one million.”
