Only 317 retailers join FBR’s Aasaan Tax Scheme, just two are new taxpayers

Profit by Pakistan Today reported that only 317 retailers have filed returns under the FBR's Aasaan Tax Scheme, and just two of them are new taxpayers. The other 315 were already part of the income tax regime, a result that points to a lukewarm reception for the government's latest effort to draw shopkeepers into the tax net.

With about a week left before the return-filing deadline, the scheme has produced around Rs26 million in taxes, or Rs81,944 per trader, against a yearly collection goal of Rs50 billion. Roughly 5,000 retailers have registered, but completed returns remain few, and 44 new shopkeepers had prepared drafts without submitting them as of Tuesday.

Minister of State for Finance and Railways Bilal Azhar Kayani reviewed the scheme on Tuesday and asked that trader representatives help spread information to every shopkeeper. FBR commissioners have been told to step up awareness drives and contact local tax bars, while shopkeepers can pick the 1% fixed tax or regular income tax filing, and those who choose neither can face penalties of Rs10,000 for the first month, rising to Rs25,000 and Rs50,000 in the second and third months. Meanwhile, income tax returns filed so far this year reached 3.5 million, compared with 2.5 million in the same period of the previous financial year.