Businesses and enterprises: Online integration with FBR's computer system to be made mandatory

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) will make it mandatory for different categories of integrated businesses and enterprises including hospitals, hotels/restaurants, medical practitioners/consultants, courier/cargo services, pathological laboratories, health clubs/gyms, accountants and pharmacies to integrate online with the FBR's computer system.

The FBR has issued a new rule i.e. online integration of businesses through an SRO 296(I)2020, here on Thursday, to amend the Income Tax Rules, 2002.

According to the FBR, online integration of businesses would be compulsory for photographers, medical care centres, medical diagnostic laboratories, inter-city travel by road and services provided by beauty parlours, clinics and slimming centres, guest houses, marriage halls, marquees and other categories of integrated enterprises.

The provisions shall apply to all persons whose principal place of business is anywhere in Pakistan in case of a company.

In all other cases, where principal place of business is within the civil limits including cantonments of districts specified in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi Multan, Peshawar, and Gujranwala.

The integrated enterprises shall install such fiscal electronic device and software, as approved by the board, available on its website with complete technical instructions for installation, configuration, and integration.

The person shall notify to the board, through the computerised system, of all the establishments (notified establishments), from which they intend to carry on business and shall register each point of sale (POS) to activate the integration duly providing the following information: POS registration number (to be provided by the system); name of business like branch name; branch address; POS identification number, and registration date.

No sale or service from the notified establishment shall be rendered without being recorded by the duly accredited electronic fiscal device (EFD), which means a system composed of one sale data controller (SDC) and at least one point of sale (POS) connected together, that has the specified characteristics and requirements, the FBR maintained.

The integrated enterprise shall maintain the record of all the bills and transactions made from a notified establishment and also at the notified central location.

The taxpayer shall provide access to such premises as well as the specific record required to the Inland Revenue officer as authorised by the commissioner concerned.

Other provisions of the Income Tax Ordinance regarding record maintenance and access thereto, and otherwise, shall also be applicable, the FBR said.

During the intervening period till such time the board puts into operation a system of accredited secure devices and real time communication of bills and other data as stipulated in rule, the online integration shall be considered to have been achieved, if all the conditions specified in this rule are fulfilled.

The taxpayer shall certify, using his user ID and password on the computerised system, that he shall fulfill all the requirements of this chapter as relaxed by this rule and that he shall ensure integration of all notified establishments in the manner as stipulated within one month of the date when the board declares readiness for the same through a notice sent through email or computerised system.

Such person shall provide details of all his establishments in the manner as stipulated.

The taxpayer shall upload or transfer the data of all invoices or bills periodically to the board's computerised system but the interval during such transfer shall not exceed seven clear days, the FBR added.

The board shall ensure to provide a facility on its website to a customer on its website to verify and ensure that bills issued have been dully communicated to the FBR computerised system, the FBR added.