LAHORE: The business community has expressed serious concerns over the recent Tax Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025, promulgated on May 2, 2025.
Talking to the Business Recorder, the industry circles feared three critical implications for business activities arising out of the Ordinance. They have pointed out that the provision of immediate tax recovery despite appeals is the topmost concern of the business community. It may be noted that under new subsections 138(3A) and 140(6A), tax demands become immediately payable or recoverable even if a stay is granted or an appeal is pending, provided a related issue has been decided by a high court or the Supreme Court.
The business circles have apprehended that it would severely undermine due legal process and create a chilling effect on taxpayers’ right to appeal and fair adjudication.
The second cause of concern is related to posting of Inland Revenue officers at business premises. The Section 175C allows the FBR to station officers directly at business premises to monitor production and services.
When asked about the implication, Ahmed Chinoy, one leading businessman from Karachi, said this provision invites unwarranted interference in day-to-day operations and opens doors to potential harassment and administrative overreach.
Similarly, the expanded powers for excise monitoring have also shocked businessmen at large. Amendments in the Federal Excise Act now permit monitoring and enforcement through non-FBR officers, significantly expanding enforcement reach.
The business circles are of the view that private-sector industries may face unexpected scrutiny from provincial or federal officials not directly accountable to FBR protocols. They have urged the government to review the amendments, which are likely to cause delays in economic revival in the country. They said it looks that the bureaucracy was not in consonance with the prime minister’s efforts to revive the economy at the earliest. Already, they said, the State Bank of Pakistan has adopted a dippy dallying approach towards bringing bank mark up to single digit, which has resulted into a snail-paced economic recovery.
The business circles have expressed the hope that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would take immediate take stock of the situation and stop the Federal Board of Revenue from harassing the business community in the name of reforms.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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