ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has decided to give legal cover to the notices being served to the citizens of Pakistan for seeking requisite documents or compliance of tax laws through the SMS service. In this connection, the FBR has proposed amendments in the Income Tax Rules, 2002, to give legal backing to the FBR's communication with the citizens through the SMS on the cell phone registered in the name of such person.

According to the draft amendment in the Income Tax Rules, 2002, issued by the FBR through a notification here on Monday, where a person is using a mobile phone, document required to be served on that person by the commissioner or the chief commissioner shall be considered sufficiently served if sent as SMS on the cell phone registered in the name of such person as per record of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority established under Section 3 of the Pakistan Telecommunication (Reorganization) Act, 1996 or the relevant Telecommunication Service Provider, the FBR added.

Under the present tax laws, the FBR's communication with the taxpayers through the SMS has no legal authority or legal backing. Under the proposed amendment, the FBR will be able to seek any documents from the filers or non-filers or issue notice or communicate with the taxpayers through SMS. The document served through the SMS will have full legal cover under the proposed amendment to the income tax law.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020