ISLAMABAD: Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) President Mian Nasir Hayat Magoo has invited the attention of Dr Waqar Masood Khan SAPM on Revenue on the reckless and without ground issuance of show-cause notices by the FBR officials.

In a letter to the SAPM, Maggo said that the retail outlets as per conditions in section 43A were required to integrate their outlets by 31-08-2020 with FBR’s computerized system for real time reporting of sales in the mode and manner prescribed in chapter XIV-AA of the Sales Tax Rules, 2006. The section 43A has provided categories which are required to be registered under Tier-1 retailer of sales tax Act. However businesses which are not required to be registered in terms of section 43A, in specific small businesses and SMEs are being issued show cause notices by the FBR officials, which are being duplicated by Intelligence, investigation and prosecution cell to harass the small and SME businesses in a Covid-19.

He asked for careful use of section 43A and businesses provided exception under section 43A may not be subjected to harassment to kill the weak and SME entrepreneurships, which illegal actions by FBR would have adverse impact on development of entrepreneurship required for economic growth and prosperity being looked for by the present government.

Maggo said that it is also a gauge measurement of performance of FBR that during the period it has been able to register only 646 entities with 9945 outlets integrated with computerized system of FBR. Instead of finding reasons where registration should take place, the reliance on manufactured show-cause notices have been considered to be the objective tool of success of the FBR, which like actions have already developed discouraging environment for broadening the tax net.

“Scanning the low registered numbers, it concludes to the need of extending the registration date from present 31-08-2020 to 30-06-2021 with the FBR computerized system with exclusion of present show-cause notices being issued even in cases where in absolute terms Section 43A does not find any space to apply,” he maintained.

The FPCCI President further said that we are in the favour of broadening of the tax base but equally we are advocating the need of lawful application of tax statutes, wherein the violations by FBR are in absolute terms being undisputed. The accountability in issuing such non tenable show-cause notices also is absent in actions and the present rules of business.

Maggo told the SAPM on Revenue that business must be conducted in harmony not amid conflict and contradiction created by self-interpretation of sections of the tax statutes by tax functionaries, hence the request for extension up to June 30, 2021 for registration with fair assessment as which business entities would fall in the conditions of section 43A, which presently is being misused.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021

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