Skip to main content

Another ordinance in the works for tax concessions to traders

ISLAMABAD: The government has decided to implement concessions in taxes for traders through a presidential ordinance next week, a top tax official told Dawn.

The tax rate concessions were offered in a deal reached between the Federal Board of Revenue and representatives of traders on October 30. The pact has two parts — concession in tax rates and facilitation measures.

Talking to Dawn, FBR Chairman Shabbar Zaidi said the presidential ordinance will be issued next week. Under that, traders will pay 0.5 per cent of an annual turnover of Rs100 million instead of 1.5pc and the same traders would not become withholding agents.

He said the electricity limit for registration in sales tax will be increased to Rs1.2 million from the existing Rs600,000. However, he said the CNIC condition for Rs50,000 purchases will be effective from Feb 1, 2020.

Meanwhile, the FBR has notified 493 market committees across the country with 53 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 13 in the federal capital, 373 in Punjab where seven district level committees from the south were included.

Similarly, 40 committees were notified in Sindh, which include eight at the district level and 15 in Quetta. These committees will be looked after by respective regional tax officers (RTOs).

The two sides already have agreed that the government would introduce simple forms in Urdu for registration of new traders and income tax return filing, while trade bodies will offer full cooperation in the incorporation of new businesses.

On the issue of big retailers, the chairman said that the FBR is thankful for the overwhelming and productive response of tier-1 players for integration with Point of Sales (POS) system.

The FBR IT department will ensure compatibility of systems with its software. “We are fully committed to automated systems with least human intervention,” he said.

According to Zaidi, the integration of tier-1 retailers with automated POS is a win-win situation both the parties. “The FBR assures a smooth, harassment and hassle0free transition,” he said, adding it will be ensured that a transparent system with least human intervention is put in place.

The drive for installation of automated POS at big outlets has been initiated as part of government’s drive to document sales of large retailers who are currently evading tax payment, which runs into billions. It has projected to bring 20,000 such retailers under the system by end of June 2020.

On the revenue performance, Zaidi said he was hopeful that the collection will cross the figure of Rs2.050 trillion in the first half of this fiscal year. The IMF has already lowered the target to Rs5.23tr, from Rs5.55tr.

He said that no additional revenue measures are under consideration at the movement and the FBR has not raised any such proposal with the IMF even. “We will make it public in case of any additional revenue measures,” the chairman further said.

Published in Dawn, December 29th, 2019



from The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/39oE22s
via IFTTT
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

IT ministry forms panel to review social media rules

ISLAMABAD: While uproar against the new rules to regulate social media continues from various segments of society, including parliamentarians, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) and civil society, the information technology ministry on Friday formed a committee to review the rules. The federal cabinet approved the rules on Feb 11, but later after opposition from various quarters, including companies that manage different social media platforms, the prime minister announced that a fresh consultation process would be launched over the Citizens Protection (Against Online Harm) Rules 2020. The committee formed by the IT ministry is headed by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority Chairman Amir Azeem Bajwa while its members are Eazaz Aslam Dar, additional secretary of IT; Tania Aidrus, member of the Strategic Reforms Imple­mentation Unit, Prime Minister Office; and Dr Arslan Khalid, focal person on digital media at the PM Office. Federal Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Ma
Post a Comment
Read more

Young girl’s tragic story makes her symbol of Yemen war

Buthaina Mansur al-Rimi’s life has changed drastically since last year — orphaned in Sanaa, the little girl controversially ended up in Saudi Arabia for medical care and has just returned to Yemen’s capital. Her entire immediate family was wiped out in an air strike by a Saudi-led coalition that backs Yemen’s government, using an explosive device Amnesty International says was made in the US. Images of Buthaina’s rescue and a picture of her swollen and bruised at a hospital trying to force open one of her eyes with her fingers were beamed worldwide. That international fame saw her become something of a propaganda pawn in the war between Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels and Saudi media. “I was in my mother’s room with my father, sisters, brother and uncle, the first missile hit, and my father went to get us sugar to get over the shock, but then the second missile hit, and then the third,” she says. “And then the house fell,” adds the little girl, who says she is eight. It was the
Post a Comment
Read more