SRO 1064 to be amended to make Tajir Dost Scheme effective: Mir

LAHORE: Chief Coordinator Tajir Dost Scheme Mohammad Naeem Mir said on Thursday that SRO 1064 is likely to be amended to make it more effective. Mir was addressing a press conference along with Sohail Dar and Ahmed Hassan, focal person for the scheme at the Conference Hall of Regional Tax Office (RTO).

Mir said the proposed amendments suggest that the power review would trickle down to the regional level from the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and assistant commissioners will chair regional committees to review the imposition of tax in all 42 cities of the country. According to him, the committees would review applications from traders seeking a reduction in rate in line with their capacity to pay.

He said the city of Lahore has been divided into 12 regions and equal number of committees would review any such requests from traders, seeking exemption from flat rate of tax under the scheme.

Earlier, the Board was vested with the power of review, which is likely to be amended ahead he said and added that these committees would also have the power of reviewing different sectors of economy in terms their paying capacity.

He said fresh amendments would also dispel the prevailing impression that advance tax is a minimum tax, saying the advance tax is an adjustable tax in line with the liability of taxpayers. Furthermore, he said, the rate of advance tax for wholesalers is likely to reduce to 0.5 percent from existing 2.5 percent under section 236-H of the law.

Mir said registration under Tajir Dost Scheme would automatically register taxpayers and their names would appear on the active taxpayer list immediately. Those who have got themselves registered with the scheme in 2023 would also be covered under the new arrangement, he added.

He said fresh amendments in SRO 1064 would also withdraw the power of audit from regional offices to the Federal Board of Revenue. Also, traders would be facilitated to submit their returns on quarterly basis than monthly basis.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024