FBR chairman says government plans to phase out super tax
FBR Chairman Rashid Mahmood Langrial said the government intends to abolish the super tax completely. He said the rate has been cut by two percentage points and work on gradual removal has begun.
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- FBR chairman says the government intends to abolish the super tax entirely
- The rate was first cut by two percentage points
- A tax help desk will be set up at KATI for Korangi industrialists
- KATI says delayed refunds are a major problem
Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Rashid Mahmood Langrial said the government intends to abolish the super tax completely. He was speaking in Karachi to members of the Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI), according to TechJuice and other outlets.
He said the rate was first reduced by two percentage points and that work on gradual abolition has now begun. No timeline for the full removal was given in the reports.
Langrial announced several measures for industry. A tax help desk office will be set up at KATI to handle the tax issues of industrialists in the Korangi Industrial Area. The FBR Helpdesk will also be expanded from Karachi to Sukkur.
He said consultations with stakeholders will be held to remove shortcomings in raw material imports, and that meetings will be arranged to resolve border trade problems of the leather industry. The FBR also plans to apply the DRAP model from the pharmaceutical sector to make its track and trace system active.
The chairman urged industrialists and traders to help the FBR identify tax evaders and end evasion. He heard industrialists' complaints at the event and gave instructions on the spot for resolving them.
KATI president Sheikh Omar Rehan said the prime minister had asked the FBR chairman to visit Karachi every month. He said delayed payment of tax refunds is a major problem, with billions of rupees of refunds owed to exporters and regular taxpayers pending with the FBR for a long time.
Rehan demanded that the fixed refund payment timeline be strictly followed and that genuine, verified refunds be paid automatically. He said legitimate refunds should not be withheld in the name of unnecessary audits or paperwork.
Background
khabr.pk reported on 2 November that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed the State Bank and the FBR to resolve tax problems faced by SMEs and exporters. On 3 November it reported that the IMF had raised concern over a decline in tax revenue, with sources citing a Rs129 billion shortfall in October.
Why it matters for Pakistan
Industrialists and exporters, particularly in Karachi's Korangi area, are directly affected by the super tax and by delays in refunds. The new help desks in Korangi and Sukkur are aimed at businesses dealing with the FBR. Leather and pharmaceutical firms were named in the planned measures. Pending refunds, which KATI says run into billions of rupees, affect the cash flow of exporters and regular taxpayers.
