E-filing or SIM blockage - choice is yours
Business
As many as 5,000 SIMs will be blocked every day
- The telecom authorities agree to block SIMs after FBR threatens litigation
- FBR initially wanted blockage of 500,000 SIMs in one go
- The move is expected to help tax authorities generate more revenue
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has finally agreed to block SIMs of non-filers after deliberations with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
The PTA and telecom companies have agreed to block the SIMs of 5,000 non-filers every day and the process began on Saturday.
The development comes as the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) held negotiations with the PTA and telecom companies.
Also Read: FBR set to block SIMs of over 500,000 non-filers
On Friday, the FBR officials had a meeting with PTA and telecom operators for implementation of the Income Tax General Order. The purpose of the meetings was to ensure blocking of mobile SIMs of non-filers of tax year 2023.
According to FBR officials, telecom operators have agreed to manually block SIMs in small batches and a list of 5,000 non-filers had been provided to telecom operators to block their SIMs.
Lists of more batches will be provided to telecom operators on a daily basis. According to officials, telecom operators have also started sending messages to non-filers warning them against SIM blockage.
They said blocking SIMs of non-filers would help increase tax collection. It should be noted that the government had given green signal to FBR to implement plan B against non-filers.
Also Read: Deadlock on FBR's proposal to block SIMs of non-filers persists
Earlier, a deadlock persisted between the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and PTA and telecome companies on blocking SIMs (subscribers identification modules) of tax non-filers.
According to sources, the mobile phone companies had refused to block more than 500,000 SIMs in one go for fear of massive losses. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority in a letter to the FBR conveyed concern and opposed the drastic measure.
The FBR chairman and other top officials have been deliberating with the mobile companies’ heads to sort out the issue. Sources say the FBR has failed to convince the telecom companies to block SIMs of tax defaulters and non-filers.
The FBR, as a last resort, threatened to move court against the PTA and telecom operators.
