FBR spox shares details of action against non-filers
1. ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) spokesperson on Wednesday shared details of action against non-filers across Pakistan.
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) spokesperson recently announced that telecom companies have blocked 230,000 Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs) of non-filers at the FBR's recommendation. Out of these, 76,636 SIMs have been unblocked after the submission of tax returns by their owners. The FBR is providing daily data of 5,000 individuals to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) for SIM blocking.
Responding to a query, the spokesperson clarified that SIMs are blocked before any investigation takes place.
On June 25, the FBR addressed the distinctions between filers and non-filers, a topic that gained significant attention following the presentation of the budget for 2024-25. In an exclusive interview with ARY News, the FBR spokesperson explained that out of Pakistan's 250 million population, only 2.5 million are non-filers. He assured that household women and students who do not hold CNICs are not considered non-filers. Non-filers are defined as individuals who do not file their tax returns despite having a taxable income.
The FBR plans to forward a list of non-filers to the FIA to prevent them from flying abroad. The federal government has proposed heavy taxes and other measures in the 2024-25 budget to target non-filers.
