FBR Notifies 1.4M For Concealing Income, Not Filing Returns

FBR Notifies 1.4M For Concealing Income, Not Filing Returns
ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has issued around 1.4 million notices to non-filers of income tax returns and those who concealed income in their declaration.

According to a statement, the FBR issued notices to nearly 1.4 million taxpayers, who were supposed to file return, or filed nil return, or misdeclared their assets to comply with their legal obligations.

The FBR is expanding serious efforts to broaden the tax base in the country. Early signs suggest such efforts are bearing fruits. As on January 30, 2021, income tax returns filed numbered 2.52 million for tax year 2020 as compared with 2.31 million last year, showing an increase of 9 percent.

The tax deposited with returns was Rs48.3 billion compared to only Rs.29.6 billion, showing an increase of 63 percent. The exercise is eliciting encouraging response. However, those who are not complying would be pursued diligently until compliance is achieved.

Meanwhile, the FBR needs to collect an amount of Rs2,393 billion during next five months of fiscal year 2020/2021 (FY21) to achieve the annual target of Rs4,963 billion. According to provisional revenue figures released on Saturday, the FBR collected Rs2,570 billion during July–January 2020-21 as compared to Rs2,416 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year, showing an increase of 6.4 percent.

In order to achieve the revenue collection target the FBR required to maintain 53.4 percent growth in revenue collection during the remaining months of the current fiscal year. The FBR collected Rs1,560 billion during February – June of the last fiscal year. However, the revenue body needs Rs2,393 billion in the remaining five months of the current fiscal year.

The net collection for the month of January was Rs.364 billion against a target of Rs340 billion, representing an increase of 12.3 percent over last January and 107 percent of the target. This is the first double-digit monthly growth during the fiscal year. On the other hand, the gross collections increased from Rs2,464 billion to Rs2,699 billion, showing an increase of nearly 10 percent.

The amount of refunds was Rs129 billion compared to Rs69 billion paid last year, showing an increase of 87 percent. This is reflective of FBR’s resolve to fast-track refunds to prevent liquidity issues of the industry. TLTP