ISLAMABAD: Only 1,750 retailers have enrolled in the Federal Board of Revenue’s fixed retailers scheme, and just 220 of those are first-time filers, the board reported after the October 31 income tax filing deadline expired, a response officials described as lukewarm given an estimated 3.6 million potential non-filers in the retail sector.
The FBR collected Rs4,088.2 billion ($14.7 billion) in the first four months of the fiscal year, July through October, against a target of Rs4,217.2 billion, a shortfall of about Rs129 billion. Collections grew 7% during the period, well below the 17% growth needed to reach Rs15,264 billion by June 30, 2027.
Total income tax returns received stood at 7.6 million as of the deadline. The FBR granted two extensions, moving the deadline from September 30 to October 15 and then to October 31. An FBR official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said no further extensions would be granted.
October collections reached Rs1,002 billion, up from Rs975 billion on October 30.
The government had set a Rs50 billion collection target for the retailers’ scheme and hoped to bring 0.2 million to 0.5 million retailers into the tax net. With the poor response, the FBR now plans to penalize non-filers: Rs10,000 in the first month, Rs25,000 in the second and Rs50,000 in the third, followed by authority to seal the premises of retailers who remain outside the tax system.
The FBR also plans to geo-tag markets in upscale areas of major urban centers to identify retailers who should be filing returns.
