Tax Talks

Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has formed a committee to facilitate a single portal for filing telecom sales tax returns across all tax jurisdictions in Pakistan.

Committee composition:

• Representatives from FBR (including Chief, Provincial Taxes & Chief, IT)
• Members from each Provincial Revenue Authority (Punjab, Sindh, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan)

Committee responsibilities:

• Assess readiness and requirements for launching the single portal.
• Collaborate with relevant stakeholders (FBR, PRAs, telcos) as needed.
• Determine procedures for:
  
  • Modifying the single return form (in consultation with PRAL)
  • Enforcing return filing
  • Granting filing extensions
  • Revising filed returns
• Make recommendations on:
  
  • Software development timeline and specifications for the single portal
  • Legal amendments needed for:
    
    • Implementing the new return format
    • Synchronizing filing deadlines across PRAs
    • Addressing data sharing, access, privacy, and security
    • Defining ownership and operation of the portal and data

Expected benefits:

• Streamlined telecom sales tax filing for businesses
• Improved compliance and revenue collection
• Reduced administrative burden for taxpayers and authorities