Talks between the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and mobile companies have failed to reach a consensus on the issue of blocking SIMs of over 500,000 tax non-filers.
Well-informed sources told ProPakistani that the meeting between FBR and mobile phone operators was held at the FBR headquarters, but the mobile companies refused to block the SIMs, citing technical and operational hurdles.
According to the sources, the telecom companies have taken the stance that there are legal issues in implementing the SIM blockage, and have refused to provide any assurance on blocking the SIMs during today’s talks. Sources reveal that another round of talks will be held between the FBR and mobile operators, but the companies have not shown any willingness to block the SIMs.
Earlier, telecom operators wrote a letter to the Ministry of IT and Telecom (MoITT) and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and asked them to intervene in the matter to safeguard the interests of the telecom industry as well as its consumers with regard to the FBR order to block mobile SIMs of non-filers. The telecom companies said in the letter that the order issued by the FBR is illegal and ultra vires of the Constitution of Pakistan and the Telecom Act.
Last week, FBR issued an Income Tax General Order (ITGO) to disable the mobile phone SIMs of over 0.5 million persons who do not appear on the active taxpayer list but are liable to file the Income Tax Return for Tax Year 2023.
The General Order issued by FBR said that the mobile SIMs in respect of 506,671 persons will remain blocked until restored by FBR or the Commissioner Inland Revenue having jurisdiction over the person.
Through the order, FBR asked PTA and all telecom operators to ensure the compliance of the order with immediate effect and asked them to furnish a compliance report to FBR on May 15.
This is the power of telco companies. They will give them a big slap soon.