Tag: Federal Board of Revenue

Islamabad, July 04, 2014 (PPI-OT): The news item captioned “FBR opens doors to corruption” published in a section of the press today on 04th of July, 2014 is not factually correct. Referring to SRO 608(I)/2014 dated 26.06.2014, it has been wrongly stated that Commissioners of Inland Revenue have been given extra discretionary powers.

The actual facts are that in accordance with the government’s policy to phase out the SRO regime, many concessions in existing SROs were either withdrawn or reduced in the Budget 2014-15. However, a limited number of concessions were continued due to their essential or socially sensitive nature, by way of transposition into the Fifth or Sixth Schedules to the Sales Tax Act, 1990.

Since SRO 670(I)/2013 dated 18.07.2013 granted conditional zero-rating on sensitive items like milk, milk products, stationery items and bicycles, the government decided to continue the concession. This was done by transposing the Table of the SRO into the Fifth Schedule to the Sales Tax Act, 1990, while the conditions for availing zero-rating were incorporated into the Sales Tax Special Procedure Rules, 2007 through SRO 608(I)/2014.

It is therefore, clarified that no new discretionary powers have been granted to the Commissioners through SRO 608(I)/2014, but only the procedure and conditions already existing in SRO 670(I)/2013 were transposed into the Sales Tax Special Procedure Rules, 2007 through SRO 608(I)/2014.

For more information, contact:
Mujeeb-ur-Rehman Talpur
Second Secretary (Public Relations)
Federal Board of Revenue
FATE Wing, Federal Board of Revenue,
Constitution Avenue, Sector G-5,
Islamabad, Pakistan
Phone: +92 51 921 7267
Fax: +92 51 9208456
Email: mujeeb.talpur@fbr.gov.pk, talpur35@gmail.com

Islamabad, June 26, 2014 (PPI-OT): In order to facilitate the taxpayers in depositing their duties and taxes during the last few days of the current financial year, the State Bank of Pakistan, on request of FBR has decided to keep authorized branches of State Bank of Pakistan, National Bank of Pakistan, Commercial Banks and National Institute of Facilitation Technologies (NIFT) open for extended hours.

According to details, State Bank of Pakistan branches would remain open on 30th of June 2014 till 10:00pm. National Bank of Pakistan branches would remain open till 8:00pm on 28th and 29th June for collection of FBR taxes/duties and till 10:00 for cheque collection and 12:00 midnight for cash counters on 30th June 2014 (Monday) for government receipts and payments.

Similarly, designated branches of Commercial Banks would remain open on 28th June 2014 (normal working hours) and 30th June 2014 until 10:00pm. NIFT will also remain available to collect and sort the clearing instruments deposited on 28th and 29th June 2014 from NBP. Two special clearings on Monday 30th June 2014 at 3:00pm and 10:00pm respectively have also been arranged besides normal clearings.

Besides the opening for extended hours of banks, arrangements have also been made to facilitate taxpayers in payment of Taxes / Duties and fulfill their national obligation. In this regard FBR has directed all its field formations to remain open on 28th and 29th June 2014 until 8:00pm and on 30th June 2014 until 12:00 midnight.

For more information, contact:
Mujeeb-ur-Rehman Talpur
Second Secretary (Public Relations)
Federal Board of Revenue
FATE Wing, Federal Board of Revenue,
Constitution Avenue, Sector G-5,
Islamabad, Pakistan
Phone: +92 51 921 7267
Fax: +92 51 9208456
Email: mujeeb.talpur@fbr.gov.pk, talpur35@gmail.com

Islamabad, May 20, 2014 (PPI-OT): Facilitation and Taxpayer Education Wing of FBR held a workshop on e-portal services and role and responsibilities of withholding agents at Bahawalpur Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Bahawalpur in collaboration with Regional Tax Office (RTO), Bahawalpur today.

Presidents, Vice Presidents and other office-bearers of Rahimyar Khan Chamber, Tax Bar Associations of Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar, Lodhran and Rahimyar Khan, Corporate Taxpayers and major withholding agents attended the workshop.

Mr. Saleem Raza Asif, Chief Commissioner, RTO Bahawalpur and Mr. Ameer Yousaf Khan, President Bahawalpur Chamber of Commerce and Industries jointly presided over the workshop. Mr. Ameer Yousaf Khan welcomed the workshop participants and the senior hierarchy of RTO Bahawalpur and officers from FBR.

In his opening remarks, he encouraged the participants to freely and openly discuss their problems regarding the withholding taxes and give their input for improvement of the withholding tax regime. He emphasized upon the FBR to give special attention to the Southern Punjab in facilitation and creating awareness.

Mr. Saleem Raza Asif, Chief Commissioner, RTO, Bahawalpur thanked the President of the Chamber for hosting the said workshop. Mr. Ahmad Shuja Khan, Commissioner (IR), Mr. Muhammad Sultan, Additional Commissioner (IR), Mr. Ghulam Hussain Daultana, Deputy Commissioner (HQs) and Mr. Hassan Mabroor, Deputy Commissioner, were also present at the occasion.

Mr. Hassan Mabroor gave a comprehensive presentation on the roles and responsibilities of Withholding Agents in the system of tax collection and highlighted and discussed the laws and provisions concerning WHT agents.

A detailed e-portal / website awareness presentation was given by Mr. Sami-ul-Haq, Webmaster, FATE Wing, FBR elaborating to the audience all the facilities and information provided on FBR’s web portal http://www.fbr.gov.pk so that they can take full benefit of the system and FBR’s e-portal.

The presentations were followed by Questions and Answers session where the participants highlighted their issues faced in e-services, sales tax and income tax at the time of payment of withholding taxes. These questions were addressed by Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner and other relevant officers of RTO Bahawalpur.

The participants of the workshop appreciated the holding of the workshops and thanked FBR for providing them with this opportunity of direct interaction with the tax authorities. They hoped that these workshops would be made a regular feature of FBR’s outreach program.

Chief Commissioner, RTO Bahawalpur, Mr. Saleem Raza Asif, in his concluding remarks, appreciated the initiative of FATE Wing of FBR and said that these workshops should be turned into a regular feature as they provide an opportunity of first hand interaction with the taxpayers and other stakeholders. He appreciated active participation from various trade bodies of the Region.

This workshop was held as part of a series of workshops being held all over the country by FBR’s FATE Wing to communicate with the taxpayers and to educate them about various initiatives undertaken by FBR. The workshops also provided an opportunity of getting feedback from them to further improve the FBR-taxpayer relationship.

For more information, contact:
Mujeeb-ur-Rehman Talpur
Second Secretary (Public Relations)
Federal Board of Revenue
FATE Wing, Federal Board of Revenue,
Constitution Avenue, Sector G-5,
Islamabad, Pakistan
Phone: +92 51 921 7267
Fax: +92 51 9208456
Email: mujeeb.talpur@fbr.gov.pk, talpur35@gmail.com

Islamabad, May 14, 2014 (PPI-OT): Facilitation and Taxpayers Education (FATE) Wing of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) organized a daylong workshop on e-portal services and role and responsibilities of withholding agents at the Haripur Chamber of Commerce here today.

Senior officials of FATE Wing, FBR, and Regional Tax Office (RTO) Abbotabad were present at the workshop attended by a large number of major tax-deducting authorities and withholding agents representing major industries in the Hattar and Haripur region.

In his welcome address, Muhammad Bilal Khan Daudzai, Deputy Commissioner IR RTO Abbotabad, welcomed the participants of the workshop and highlighted the role and responsibilities of the withholding agents in revenue generation necessary for turning on the wheel of economy.

This was followed by a detailed presentation by RTO Abbottabad official Mr. Shaukat Tanoli on the roles and responsibilities of Withholding Agents in the system of tax collection. He elaborated on the salient features of the laws and provisions concerning WHT agents and urged the Withholding Agents to understand their role and significance in improving and streamlining the tax system.

The second segment of the workshop was on e-portal awareness, which was presented by Mr. Sammi-ul-Haq, Webmaster, FATE Wing, FBR, who also explained the facilities and information provided on FBR’s web portal http://www.fbr.gov.pk.

The presentations were followed by Questions and Answers session where the participants highlighted their issues faced in sales tax and income tax at the time of withholding taxes, which was addressed by Deputy Commissioner and other relevant officials of RTO Abbottabad.

Deputy Commissioner RTO Abbotabad Muhammad Bilal Khan Daudzai appreciated the initiative of FATE Wing of FBR and said that these workshops should be turned into a regular feature as they provide an opportunity of first hand interaction with the taxpayers and other stakeholders.

He thanked the participants for their active participation in the session. The workshop was attended by a large number of withholding agents from different business organizations under the jurisdiction of RTO Abbotabad.

This workshop at Regional Tax Office, Faisalabad is a as part of the series of workshops being held all over the country by FBR’s FATE Wing to communicate with the taxpayers and to educate them about the various initiatives undertaken by FBR.

These workshops provide an opportunity to the taxpayers to put forth their individual and local issues and getting solved their concerns. Back from the taxpayers are also heard and is taken as an asset to further improve the FBR-taxpayer relationship.

For more information, contact:
Mujeeb-ur-Rehman Talpur
Second Secretary (Public Relations)
Federal Board of Revenue
FATE Wing, Federal Board of Revenue,
Constitution Avenue, Sector G-5,
Islamabad, Pakistan
Phone: +92 51 921 7267
Fax: +92 51 9208456
Email: mujeeb.talpur@fbr.gov.pk, talpur35@gmail.com

Islamabad, May 12, 2014 (PPI-OT): Facilitation and Taxpayer Education Wing of FBR held a workshop on e-portal services and role and responsibilities of withholding agents at Regional Tax Office (RTO), Quetta today. Representatives from SMEDA, National Savings, Pakistan Post, AGPR Quetta, Quetta Chamber, Tax Bar and other major Tax deducting authorities attended the workshop.

Shahzada Tahir Zaman, Chief Commissioner RTO Quetta presided over the workshop and welcomed the workshop participants. In his opening remarks he encouraged the participants to freely and openly discuss their problems regarding the withholding tax and give their input for improvement of the withholding tax regime.

Talking about the joint responsibility of the withholding agents and FBR, he said that he consider the WHT agents as partners of FBR and are in the same boat. Sahibzada Abdul Matin, Commissioner (WHT), Mr. Abdul Malik Durrani, Assistant Commissioner, Mr. Islah-ud-Din Khan, Assistant Commissioner were also present at the occasion.

Assistant Commissioner, RTO Quetta Mr. Islah-ud-Din Khan gave a comprehensive presentation on the roles and responsibilities of Withholding Agents in the system of tax collection and highlighted and discussed the laws and provisions concerning WHT agents.

A detailed e-portal / website awareness presentation was given by Mr. Tajo Muhammad, Manager PRAL, RTO Quetta, elaborating to the audience all the facilities and information provided on FBR’s web portal http://www.fbr.gov.pk so they can take full benefit of the system and FBR’s e-portal.

The presentations were followed by Questions and Answers session where the participants highlighted their issues faced in e-services, sales tax and income tax at the time of withholding taxes were addressed by Chief Commissioner RTO Quetta and other relevant officers of RTO Quetta.

The participants of the workshop appreciated the holding the workshops and thanked FBR for providing them with this opportunity of direct interaction with the tax authorities. They hoped that these workshops would be made a regular feature of FBR’s outreach program.

Shahzada Tahir Zaman, Chief Commissioner RTO Quetta appreciated the initiative of FATE Wing of FBR and said that these workshops should be turned into a regular feature as they provide an opportunity of first hand interaction with the taxpayers and other stakeholders. Mr. Mujeeb-ur-Rehman Talpur in his concluding remarks thanked Chief Commissioner, RTO Quetta for hosting the workshop.

Mr. Talpur appreciated active participation from various trade bodies of Quetta. He emphasized that the FATE Wing of FBR is committed to create awareness amongst the taxpayers regarding their responsibilities as withholding agents. The workshop was attended by a large number of withholding agents from different business organizations under the jurisdiction of RTO Quetta.

This workshop was held as part of a series of workshops being held all over the country by FBR’s FATE Wing to communicate with the taxpayers and to educate them about the various initiatives undertaken by FBR. The workshops also provide an opportunity of interaction with the taxpayers so as to facilitate them as well as to get feedback from them to further improve the FBR-taxpayer relationship.

For more information, contact:
Mujeeb-ur-Rehman Talpur
Second Secretary (Public Relations)
Federal Board of Revenue
FATE Wing, Federal Board of Revenue,
Constitution Avenue, Sector G-5,
Islamabad, Pakistan
Phone: +92 51 921 7267
Fax: +92 51 9208456
Email: mujeeb.talpur@fbr.gov.pk, talpur35@gmail.com

Islamabad, May 06, 2014 (PPI-OT): It is clarified that the Member Inland Revenue (Policy) and Official Spokesperson, FBR while talking to the Participants of 17th MCMC, did not say that all the Rs.500 billion tax exemptions would be withdrawn in next fiscal year. Instead he said that currently there are exemptions of around Rs. 500 billion which are planned to be withdrawn in phases during three years, starting from the next fiscal year i.e. 2014-15.

For more information, contact:
Mujeeb-ur-Rehman Talpur
Second Secretary (Public Relations)
Federal Board of Revenue
FATE Wing, Federal Board of Revenue,
Constitution Avenue, Sector G-5,
Islamabad, Pakistan
Phone: +92 51 921 7267
Fax: +92 51 9208456
Email: mujeeb.talpur@fbr.gov.pk, talpur35@gmail.com

Islamabad, May 06, 2014 (PPI-OT): A group of 17th Mid Career Management Course has visited FBR here today the 06th May 2014, headed by Acting Director General / Chief Instructor, National Institute of Management, Quetta Mr. Nazar Mohammad Kakar.

Ms. Riffat Shaheen Qazi, Member FATE, FBR, welcomed the visiting officers and briefly told them about the mandate, working and performance of the FBR. She said FBR being the sole institution responsible for resource mobilization and revenue generation faced a difficult task of collecting tax revenue but the strenuous and dedicated efforts of the officers and workforce of FBR were helping broaden the tax net.

Mr. Shahid Hussain Asad, Member (Inland Revenue) Policy, FBR, while briefing the group of visiting officers currently attending Mid-Career Management Course (MCMC) at the National Institute of Management (NIM) Quetta said that Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has planned to take away most of the Rs 500 billion tax exemptions from the next financial year which is also going be a difficult year for those potential taxpayers who have not obtained NTN and also those who have an NTN but never file their returns.

“We have long relied on the universal self assessment scheme believing in the income figures and subsequent tax returns filed by the taxpayers but now is the time to judge the value of these returns on the basis of expenditure incurred by the people on maintaining their social status and lifestyle,” said Mr. Shahid Hussain Asad.

Earlier responding to queries from the visiting officers, Member (IR) Policy, FBR, Mr. Shahid Hussain Asad said FBR had formulated a strategy to go after the tax-evaders by using information obtained from their transactions in the real estate sector, purchase of vehicles, foreign travels and also by accessing, in the long run, their bank accounts to assess the extent of tax avoidance and tax evasion.

To a question, he said FBR had been able to collect Rs 1743 billion revenue by the end of April and efforts were on to meet the annual revenue collection target of Rs 2345 billion. ‘We are confident we would be able to meet the target as most of the large collections are made towards the end of the financial year,” he said.

Later, Bakhtiar Muhammad, Chief Facilitation and Taxpayer Education (FATE), FBR, gave a detailed presentation on the working and performance of FBR in broadening the tax net and enhancing the tax-to-GDP ratio.

He said the share of people filing their tax returns in Pakistan’s population was merely 1.6 per cent as compared to 4.7 per cent in India, 16.5 per cent in Argentina, 58 per cent in France and an impressive 80 per cent in Canada.

“The presence of such a large number of tax-paying individuals in these countries has directly played a crucial role in sustaining their economies besides providing a financial cushion to their governments to divert massive funds to the development of social sector,” he said.

Dr. Muhammad Zubair, Chief International Customs FBR, also shared with the officers various loopholes and weaknesses in the current taxation system and what measures were required to make the system more robust.

He argued that for a robust taxation system, compliant taxpayers, independent tax authority, simplified tax laws and procedures and a vibrant tax machinery are essential. Similarly, a fair tax system should impose similar tax burdens on similarly situated individuals while tax burdens should also be proportional to an individual’s ability to pay tax, he added.

Mr. Nazar Mohammad Kakar, Acting Director General / Chief Instructor, National Institute of Management, Quetta thanked FBR for hosting the said inland study tour.

For more information, contact:
Mujeeb-ur-Rehman Talpur
Second Secretary (Public Relations)
Federal Board of Revenue
FATE Wing, Federal Board of Revenue,
Constitution Avenue, Sector G-5,
Islamabad, Pakistan
Phone: +92 51 921 7267
Fax: +92 51 9208456
Email: mujeeb.talpur@fbr.gov.pk, talpur35@gmail.com