The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has assigned over-ambitious targets to Regional Tax Offices (RTOs) Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad to register 13,500, 10,800 and 10,800 new taxpayers respectively during 2009-10. Sources told Business Recorder here on Monday that the FBR has issued instructions to the Directors-General of RTOs following the directive of the Revenue Advisory Council headed by Dr Hafiz Pasha to broaden the tax base during the current fiscal.
According to the targets for new registration, the RTOs would have to register at least 100,500 new taxpayers with the income tax department. Break-up of 100,500 shows that the RTO Karachi has been given target of 13,500 new taxpayers registration; RTO Hyderabad 11,100; RTO Sukkur 4,500; RTO Quetta 4,500; RTO Multan 7,400; RTO Lahore 10,800; RTO Faisalabad 9,000; RTO Gujranwala 8,100; RTO Sialkot 4,500; RTO Rawalpindi 7,200; RTO Islamabad 10,800; RTO Abbottabad 4,500 and RTO Peshawar has been assigned the target of 4,600 new taxpayers.
The data reflects that the highest target has been assigned to RTO Karachi in view of its wider territorial jurisdiction over large number of un-registered business units, retailers, wholesalers, dealers and other categories of potential persons operating out of the tax net. The RTO Hyderabad has been assigned second highest target of 11,100 as compared to RTOs Lahore and Islamabad with targets of 10,800 each.
The FBR has further directed the Directors-General of RTOs to ensure registration of at least 1,1100 new taxpayers on monthly basis from October2009 to June 2010 to meet the target of 100,500 new registrations with the income tax department. To meet the overall registration target of 100,500 by the RTOs, Enforcement Divisions would utilise available sources of information to allocate National Tax Numbers (NTN) and ensure filing of returns by new taxpayers.
Sources said that the Ministry of Finance and Revenue Advisory Council had directed the FBR to register 100,000 new cases on the basis of database available with the Pakistan Revenue Automation Limited (PRAL).
The Finance Ministry had also constituted a committee with the specific goal to analyse the sector-wise tax contribution for the last three years and develop data of non-taxpayers. The committee comprises officials of FBR, National and Database Registration Authority (Nadra) and PRAL for carrying out this exercise.