The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has decided to amend the sales tax and federal excise return forms to bring the unregistered buyers into the tax net. Sources told Business Recorder here on Friday that the Board has sent the proposed sales tax return form to the Law and Justice Division for making legal the process of obtaining information relating to the invoices.
The existing sales tax return does not have the provision to give information about the serial number of invoices. The invoice number gives the basic information about the un-registered buyers which would help in documentation. It has been brought to the notice of the Board that the invoice related information should be incorporated in the sales tax returns for obtaining information about the un-registered buyers/sellers.
According to sources, the scheme of sales tax consumer lucky draw would also be instrumental in collecting information about the un-registered buyers. The amended sales tax return would facilitate the tax authorities in smooth implementation of the new scheme. The FBR has taken a number of measures to expand the tax net under the RGST Bill 2010. The amendment in the sales tax return is part of the overall FBR strategy to broaden the tax base. The Board is taking new measures to generate additional revenue expanding the tax base. Under the penalty schedule of the RGST Bill 2010, any person who unauthorisedly issues an invoice in which an amount of tax is specified, the penalty would be Rs 10,000 or five percent of the tax involved, whichever is higher. In case of failure to issue tax invoice, the penalty would be Rs 5000 or three percent of the amount of tax involved, whichever is higher.