FBR warns of increased tax penalties for late filers

ISLAMABAD: The chairman of Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) on Friday issued a warning to non-filers, stating that a 6 percent tax will now be levied for those who become late filers.

This announcement came during a meeting of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance, where Chairman FBR, Amjad Zubair, provided detailed insights into the current tax filing landscape.

According to Chairman FBR, a total of 5.2 million individuals submitted their tax returns in 2023, compared to 4.1 million in 2022.

He mentioned that the already imposed penalties on late filers have been increased to encourage timely submissions.

READ: FBR spox shares details of action against non-filers

The FBR chairman elaborated on the tax implications for property buyers, noting that filers are required to pay a 3 percent tax, whereas non-filers must pay a significantly higher rate of 10 percent.

Chairman FBR revealed that the country currently has 240,000 non-filers, with data collected showing that 180,000 individuals have not submitted returns in the last three years.

Additionally, the data indicates that 600,000 non-filers have made substantial purchases, such as expensive vehicles and property.

Regarding measures to enforce compliance, Chairman FBR mentioned that more than 250,000 SIM cards of non-filers have been blocked.

Consequently, 86,000 individuals have since submitted their returns following the blocking of their SIM cards.