The federal government has decided to take action against shopkeepers who have not registered under the Asaan Tax Scheme, Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani told the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance.
Kayani said registration under the scheme fell short of expectations, despite the government accepting all demands put forward by traders. He said the government is now starting strict legal action and fines against non-filer shopkeepers.
Committee Chairman Syed Naveed Qamar asked about the enforcement mechanism. Kayani said the complete procedure would be presented to the committee within a few days.
Qamar noted that the government had expected 80 percent of shopkeepers to register under the scheme. He said that if even 20 percent had not registered, the government was back at square one.
During the same meeting, the committee deferred the Companies (Amendment) Bill because it was not cleared. Qamar also expressed reservations over the misuse of the Export Facilitation Scheme. He said the Chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) was not present for the briefing, and the bill was therefore being deferred.
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged Pakistan to address a Rs96 billion tax revenue shortfall for the first four months of the fiscal year and meet its annual collection target of Rs15,264 billion. It has proposed emergency tax measures if revenue targets continue to be missed.
The Fund has also called for higher General Sales Tax collection at federal and provincial levels, stronger taxation of the retail, wholesale and agriculture sectors, and bringing untaxed professionals and other sectors into the tax system.
Officials say the government may have to impose new taxes or cut public spending if the shortfall widens. Compliance with the conditions of the $7 billion IMF programme remains mandatory.
