Telenor responds to FBR’s tax audit notice

Apropos the news titled ‘FBR hints at conducting tax audit of telecom firms’ that appeared in daily Business Recorder on Jan 12, 2018, Telenor Pakistan’s Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Kamal Ahmed has said “Telenor Pakistan has been making a positive contribution to the society and economy and is one of the largest contributors to the national exchequer. Through our Code of Compliance we are committed to meeting all our legal obligations and carrying out our operations in strict accordance with the laws of Pakistan while upholding the highest standards of corporate ethics and integrity.

We received a notice from FBR on January 4, 2018 over short deposit of withholding tax amounting to PKR 267M for the period July-Sep 2017.  We disagree with FBR’s contention in the aforesaid notice and have responded with the verifiable details of tax payments provided during the audit and requested the withdrawal of this notice. We can confidently claim to have carried out all our statutory fiscal obligations.

As one of the highest taxpayers, over the past 12 years, we have contributed over PKR 275B to the national exchequer in the form of direct and indirect taxes. We have policies and procedures in place that ensure strict adherence and compliance to all taxation rules and regulations.”