‘Non-compliance’ with tax laws: SRB takes punitive action against restaurant chain

KARACHI: The Sindh Revenue Board (SRB) on Thursday sealed two locations of the popular Red Apple restaurant chain over non-compliance with tax reporting laws.

According to the details, the officers from the SRB shut down the Red Apple’s flagship restaurant in Khadda Market, DHA, and their second restaurant in Clifton’s Block 2.

The closures come after months of unheeded notices from the SRB demanding the management of the Red Apple restaurant to integrate their Point of Sale (POS) systems with the SRB to enable real-time sales reporting.

As per Sindh Sales Tax statutes, restaurants with over Rs. 5 million in annual turnover or multiple locations are legally required to connect their POS systems with the SRB, allowing tax officials to monitor sales transactions remotely and enabling the consumers to verify the authenticity of tax invoices. However, the restaurant chain allegedly ignored repeated SRB directives to comply with the law.

With this operation, the SRB has sent a stern warning to all restaurants skirting POS integration requirements that tax evasion tactics will not be tolerated. The authority has promised similarly strict punishments for other eateries flouting provincial taxation rules and continues working to fortify tax compliance monitoring across Sindh.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023