The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is fully determined to install electronic cash registers at retail/wholesale outlets under value added tax (VAT) regime, which would simplify the accounting procedure and keep an update on stock position in electronic format.
Sources told Business Recorder here on Wednesday that the retailers should not hesitate in installing electronic cash registers, as it would facilitate them in different ways, keeping the units up-to-date on cash inflow and outflow. Installation of electronic cash registers at retail premises is a vital component of VAT regime, as this would help in many ways.
First, accounting system would be simplified for the retail chains through electronic processing of sale receipts removing the hazards of manual processing. Second, the electronic inventory/stock position would be available to the owners and chances of any kind of leakage or tampering of data would not be possible.
Third, electronic cash registers are a major tool of business management for retailers. Fourth, analysis of sales and turnover could easily be done through electronic maintenance of data. Fifth, consumers would have to pay authentic prices of the purchased items as the electronic receipts could be matched with the prices charged at other stores.
It is the right of the consumers to demand invoices from the retailer/shopkeeper for which electronically generated sales receipt is the best option. Sixth, the installation of such registers would bring stability in the prices of commodities on the basis of firsthand data available for comparison.
Seventh, it would generate employment by hiring educated persons to operate such electronic registers. Eight, the biggest advantage is to have documented mechanism for monitoring of sales by the retailers on daily basis. If genuine sales are being determined, it would not create any problem for the retailers, who would be documented under the VAT regime having simply method for payment of refunds, sources said.
They said that the FBR is examining a proposal for provision of free of cost electronic registers to traders to document their transactions for realising the due value of tax. Even if such registers cost a few thousand rupees, it would help in determining the actual sales of retailers, etc. The absence of electronic cash registers at the retail outlets is just like having offices without computers.
Recently, National Assembly standing committee on finance strongly supported a proposal of Munir Quershi, Member, Customs, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), to install cash registers at retail outlets for documentation of actual sales of traders, retailers and business units across the country.
According to sources, the only way to document actual turnover of retailers is to install cash registers at the business outlets across the country. The taxes from the documented retail outlets and international chains are much higher due to installation of the cash electronic registers at their counters. One of the biggest advantages of installing cash registers is that the equipment cannot be tampered and accurate duties and taxes could be collected from the shops having such cash registers, determining actual sales taking place on daily basis.