The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has finalized a new mobile phone application in the name of “Tajir Doost” for documentation of 3.2 million retailers and shopkeepers across the country.
Under the proposal, a retailer’s tax liability will be calculated based on FBR’s property valuation and the rental value of shops. The FBR will give a facility of a 50 percent reduction in tax payment for those retailers who would voluntarily register themselves under the new scheme.
All kinds of retailers would be required to be registered with the FBR through the mobile app ((Tajir Doost). The new retailers would submit basic data of shop size, electricity meter number, and other information and get themselves registered with the tax department.
According to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) document submitted to the IMF, the FBR is taking measures to expand the taxpayer base. In January 2024, the FBR plans to launch a scheme for door-to-door campaigns in four provincial capitals and Islamabad, to register non-filing retailers and streamline their tax filing.
By cross-referencing tax filings with electricity meter data, we will detect evasion and conduct audits when required.
The FBR will implement safeguards in the form of strict supervision through random audits of assessments filed under the scheme to verify the correctness of valuations and payments. The FBR will launch this scheme with the least discretion for the field offices to alter valuations and assessments to protect the potential revenue raised from these actions.
To avoid double taxation, monthly advance tax payments under the scheme will offset final income tax liabilities at year-end at the time of return filing. However, no refunds of such advance payments of taxes will be issued, FBR added.
