FBR to streamline the sales tax filing process, starting with the telecom sector

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has taken a positive step towards streamlining the VAT filing process in various jurisdictions in Pakistan. In an effort to make doing business in the country easier, the FBR has decided to initially implement a single sales tax return (ST) portal for the telecom sector, with plans to expand to other sectors once technical issues are resolved. dissolved.

To facilitate the development of the single portal, a committee has been formed consisting of experienced officers from the FBR and technical resources from the Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA). The committee will also consult with telecom service providers, tax bars and provincial tax authorities to ensure all stakeholders are represented.

Committee members:

Tariq Iqbal, Secretary (Law and Clarification), FBR, Faisal Sulaiman Senior Business Analyst, PRAL, Islamabad; Farheen Azhar Senior Manager (Commercial Projects), PRAL, Islamabad, Shahid Sharif Manager (Development), PRAL, Islamabad.

The committee’s tasks include studying the current ST declaration process, identifying similarities and differences between FBR and PRA processes and designing and supervising software development by PRAL. The committee will also conduct user acceptance testing to ensure that the portal is user-friendly and efficient.

We expect that the implementation of the common tax filing portal will not only simplify tax filing for businesses, but also improve the overall tax collection system in Pakistan. The commission has been given June 30, 2023 as a deadline for the introduction of the common declaration portal for the July 2023 tax period.

The committee is free to associate any resource from PRAL and field formations from FBR for consultation with various stakeholders – telecom service providers, tax bars and provincial tax authorities (PRAs) when appropriate. The committee will complete the task assigned to the execution of one turnover tax return for the tax period July 2023 by 30 June 2023 at the latest.

The ToRs of the committee are as follows:

(i) Examine the existing method of filing sales tax returns by FBR and PRAs.

(ii) Identify the similarities and differences between FBR and PRA sales tax returns, including the business processes, rules and controls.

(iii) To consult with all interested parties, including but not limited to taxpayer representatives, tax attorney associations, and field formations of FBR and PRAs.

(iv) Prepare software design and monitor PRAL’s software development.

(v) Conduct user acceptance testing with stakeholders for the implementation of the single sales tax filing portal.

(vi) Conduct user acceptance testing with the stakeholders for the implementation of the single sales tax filing portal.

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