Hajj tour operators told to pay Rs 1,600 income tax per pilgrim

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has directed the Hajj tour operators to pay Rs 1600 per pilgrim as income tax, causing to deprive the masses, who are already down in the dumps because of natural calamity, poor law and order, depressed economy and high inflation, to perform their religious duty.
Instead of taking stern measures against non-filers among Haj tour operators, the tax collecting authority is going to collect Rs 1600 per pilgrim as income tax. This would not only make the Hajj tour more costly but would also refrain hundreds of thousands of people from performing their religious duty because of excessive financial burden.
However, official sources termed the said action as an attempt to plug the revenue leakage, saying that the board has tightened the noose around Haj tour operators as only 40 groups are tax compliant amid over 600 operators. They said the Haj tour operations had no objection on the decision, which was made some two years back to collect Rs 1600 per pilgrim as income tax.
Despite showing keenness to comply with the said decision, the Haj tour operators have so far not filed income tax returns for the year 2009-10. Therefore, the department has now rolled up its sleeves against Haj tour operators to tap the revenue leakages.
Furthermore, they said, there are over 600 private Haj tour operators registered with the ministry of Religious Affairs but only 40 Haj groups are filing income tax returns, following poor level of compliance coupled with disproportionate declaration of income in tax returns vis-à-vis information received from the said ministry.
They said the Haj tour operators are not paying tax under section 21(1) of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, which is liable on the money transferred for lodging, boarding and certain payment essential for Hajj through private channels. Keeping this in view, the department has decided to take stern measures against them to improve the level of tax compliance. Therefore, the tax department has alerted all Haj tour operators to file their annual income tax return within 10 days else the audit proceedings under section 177 of Income Tax Ordinance 2001 and section 25 of Sales Tax Act 1990 would be initiated.