The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has taken an important policy decision to reduce the period of time-limit relaxation in sales tax matters for registered taxpayers from three years to two years.
According to information received from sources, Commissioners Inland Revenue will now be able to grant time-limit relaxation to registered taxpayers for a maximum period of two years. The FBR has issued a notification in this regard, under which, upon approval of an application, the Commissioner-IR may grant relaxation for a period of up to two years.
Previously, the FBR had authorized Commissioners-IR to grant exemption from any period or time prescribed under the Sales Tax Act or its rules, in order to provide an appropriate timeframe for any application or related process.
Under the proviso to Section 74 of the Sales Tax Act, 1990, amendments have been made to condition (e) through Notification No. SRO 1444(I)/2024 dated September 12, 2024, whereby the words “three years” have been replaced with “two years.”
According to the notification, the relevant registered person or their authorized representative must submit an application for time-limit waiver to the Commissioner-IR having jurisdiction, clearly stating the reasons for the delay. If no additional information or documents are required for the case, the Commissioner-IR will decide the application within thirty days, taking into account the reasons for the delay.
If the Commissioner-IR requires further information or documents in the matter, they may request their submission, and after receipt of the required information and documents, a decision on the application will be made within forty to forty-five days. During this process, the Commissioner-IR will conduct a fair hearing of the application and record the reasons for approval or rejection.
