Bill of over Rs25,000 per month: 7.5pc tax on non-filers effective from July 1, says KE

KARACHI: In line with the announcement of the budget for FY 21-22 by the federal government, residential consumers who are non-filers and have electricity bills of over PKR 25,000 will be subject to a withholding tax of 7.5%. This tax is effective from July 01, 2021 and is applicable across Pakistan including K-Electric’s serviced territory.

Over Rs25,000 power bill/month: 7.5pc tax to be imposed on non-filers

The withholding tax is only applicable on individuals showing as non-filers on the taxpayers list maintained by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). Residential consumers will be subject to a 7.5% withholding tax if their electricity bill is PKR 25,000 or more for any month in the fiscal year. Industrial and Commercial consumers with a monthly bill between PKR 500 and PKR 20,000 will be subject to a withholding tax of 10% of the amount. For bills exceeding PKR 20,000, commercial consumers will have to pay 12% of the total amount with an additional fixed charge of PKR 1950, whereas industrial consumers will have to pay 5% of the total amount with the same fixed charges.

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Commenting on the change, KE spokesperson said: “The current changes have been applied by the federal government on consumers of all distribution companies across Pakistan including those in Karachi and its adjoining areas. We understand that consumers need additional information about the process. Therefore, we have educated our staff across our complete network of 30 Customer Care Centers across Karachi to facilitate customers during this period. We urge our customers to ensure that they are included in the FBR’s active taxpayer’s list in order to claim this withholding tax in their annual returns.”

7.5pc tax on power bills for non-filers

Residential consumers are also encouraged to visit their nearest KE Customer Care Center in order to update their CNIC on their consumer bills. For further facilitation and queries, customers can also reach out to KE’s 24/7 channels including 118 call center and social media platforms. A set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) is also available on KE’s website for the ease of our customers.—PR

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021