ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s tax authority, the FBR, has told the IMF that only 1,016 shopkeepers and retailers have filed their tax returns under the Aasan Tax Scheme.
This came up during talks for the fourth review of Pakistan’s $7 billion IMF loan program.
In a meeting with the Finance Ministry and the FBR, the IMF asked how the Retailers Fixed Scheme was going. The FBR hopes to collect 50 billion rupees from this scheme this year.
Sources say only 1,016 retailers have filed returns so far, and just 91 of them are filing for the first time. The total tax collected under the scheme is only 86 million rupees.
The FBR moved the deadline for filing income tax returns from Sept. 30 to Oct. 15, 2026. Retailers can use this extra time too, but few are doing so.
Under the tax law, anyone who misses the deadline must pay a fine: 10,000 rupees in the first month, 25,000 rupees in the second month and 50,000 rupees in the third month.
