Karachi tax association raises concerns over delay in FBR forms: report

• KTBA President said prescribed form to update taxpayers' profiles has not been issued so far
  
• FBR made it mandatory for taxpayers to update their profiles by providing information including bank accounts, utility connections, etc.
• It has been made mandatory to update the profile by December 31, 2020

KARACHI: With only three days remaining to comply with the mandatory requirement, the Karachi Tax Bar Association (KTBA) has expressed concerns on the delay in issuance of a form required to update taxpayers’ profiles, The News reported on Tuesday.

KTBA President Muhammad Zeeshan Merchant, in a letter sent to Dr Muhammad Ashfaq Ahmed, Member (Operations), FBR, said the prescribed form to update the profile was not issued so far.

Merchant said the KTBA had already discussed with the FBR that once the form was issued, a period of 90 days would be given to taxpayers for compliance.

After the addition of section 114A to Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 through the Finance Act, 2020, the FBR made it mandatory for taxpayers to update their profiles by providing information including bank accounts, utility connections, business addresses, type of businesses, etc.

It has been made mandatory to update the profiles by December 31, 2020, by the revenue board.

Read more: FBR serves notices to 832,000 non-filers

Taxpayers are required to pay a penalty of Rs2,500 for each day of default from the due date, subject to a minimum penalty of Rs10,000 as per the ordinance on failure to update the profile.

The FBR issued SRO 1341(I)/2020 on December 16, 2020, to notify draft rules for furnishing taxpayers’ profiles.

The KTBA highlighted that since the form was not issued so far, the FBR should reconsider the expiry date.

The tax bar urged the FBR to immediately take urgent measures to issue the form as soon as possible and also provide proper time available under the law in order to update the profile, which was a minimum of 90 days.

The bar said this was not only the right of the taxpayers but also a genuine need as the delay was not on part of the taxpayers.