ISLAMABAD; A startling revelation has surfaced in Pakistan’s ongoing tax collection campaign, nearly one-third of all tax filers have declared no taxable income.
According to official data, around 1.7 million out of 5.5 million tax returns filed so far show ‘nil’ income, posing a major challenge for the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
Adding to the concern, the FBR has discovered that almost one million filers have declared lower incomes than in the previous fiscal year, raising suspicions of deliberate underreporting.
Senior FBR officials confirmed that notices will be sent to such individuals after the October 31 deadline, urging them to revise their returns or face legal action.
“We have identified 977,000 filed returns where the declared income is lower than last year. Some exporters have even shown losses. The FBR will issue notices to them after the deadline,” an official told journalist on Monday.
FBR Chairman Rashid Mahmood Langrial said that the authority has already sent messages to 853,000 return filers, reminding them that the FBR holds detailed data on their financial transactions. “We have enough information to identify those concealing income. After two reminders, we will conduct ex parte assessments if no response is received,” Langrial said.
The FBR has also hired 2,000 auditors to carry out comprehensive audits in the current fiscal year. Officials said that even the ‘nil’ income returns contain valuable information that will be used to expand the narrow tax base and increase tax revenue.
Sources further confirmed that the FBR extended the return filing deadline to October 31, anticipating at least three million additional submissions. The tax body has vowed to tighten enforcement measures and ensure transparency in income declarations across the country.
