ISLAMABAD: After ensuring return filing by tax officials across Pakistan, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has launched the exercise against non-filer senior bureaucracy in government departments, financial institutions, public sector entities, regulatory bodies, and senior management of private institutions.

Sources told Business Recorder the FBR had apprehended that many senior government officials in different ministries and departments including police etc were non-filers of income tax returns. “Second, the FBR is also taking action against senior executives in financial institutions that are non-filers of income tax returns. If any senior banker has not filed returns, the FBR will enforce return filing within the banking sector as well.”

The FBR has also decided to take major enforcement action against non-filers working in senior positions at different government organisations. If any of the senior government officials at top positions are non-filers, they would have to file their returns.

Non-filers, documentation of economy: FBR shares strategy with Shamshad

Initially, the FBR started an in-house exercise at FBR’s field formations to enforce return filing by tax machinery. In the next phase, the FBR will ensure return filing by senior government officials in all other ministries, divisions, and government departments/institutions.

Earlier, the FBR had given a deadline of December 6, 2023, to tax officers (BS-17 and above) to furnish a certificate of e-filing of their returns to the board.

A large number of tax officials have submitted their certificates for filing of income tax returns.

Now, the Board will go after senior government officials working in different departments but are also non-filers of income tax returns. The income tax return filing date expired on October 31, 2023, but hundreds of Inland Revenue officials had failed to file their income tax returns within the specified time period of the FBR.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023