Industrial, commercial consumers of electricity: FBR to launch registration drive from 15th

Chairman Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Shabbar Zaidi said on Friday that FBR will launch an aggressive drive from October 15, 2019 for the registration of all industrial and commercial consumers of electricity.

According to a tweet of Shabbar Zaidi here on Friday, "All industrial and commercial consumers of electricity are necessarily required to be registered for tax purposes. FBR had been using persuasive modes operandi for the same. In order to achieve the desired results an aggressive drive will be undertaken from October 15, 2019."

Earlier, the chairman FBR had said that over 60,000 notices to non-registered/non-compliant industrial and commercial consumers in Faisalabad are being jointly sent by the FBR and Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (Fesco). Strict action will be taken against delinquents. Such actions will be replicated around the country, the tweet added.

Shabbar Zaidi has asked the Ministry of Power that any application for commercial/industrial connection of electricity/gas shall not be processed unless the applicant is registered under section 181AA of Income Tax Ordinance 2001. In this regard, the FBR on Monday last sought Power Division's support for implementation of section 181AA of Income Tax Ordinance.

The chairman in his letter to Ministry of Power has sought its help for the implementation of Section 181AA of Income Tax Ordinance-2001 which specifically stipulates that any application for commercial or industrial connection of electricity or gas shall not be processed and such connection shall not be provided unless the person applying for electricity or gas connection is registered under the said section which pertains to filing of income tax returns.

The chairman FBR further added that FBR has extended the date of filing the return of income for the year 2018 to August 2, 2019 to facilitate filing of return by all persons who were required to file the return of income but have not filed so far.

He requested Ministry of Power to issue instructions to power distribution companies to apprise them that it is mandatory to be on 'Active Taxpayers List (ATL)' for every commercial and industrial electricity or gas consumer. He appreciated the cooperation of Ministry of Power for providing the data of industrial and commercial users of electricity and hoped that Ministry of Power would also help in the implementation of Section 181AA of Income Tax Ordinance through the involvement of respective 'distribution companies.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019