ISLAMABAD: Large Taxpayer Office (LTO) Islamabad would fully assist the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to enforce blockage of SIMs of 506,671 non-filers by monitoring the telecom operators falling within its jurisdiction.

In this regard, the LTO officials may visit the telecom offices here on Monday (today).

Sources told Business Recorder that the telecom operates falls under the jurisdiction of Zone-IV of LTO, Islamabad.

There is a strong possibility that the tax officials will visit the headquarters of the telecom operators to review the ongoing enforcement exercise against the non-filers of income tax returns.

FBR starts process of blocking mobile SIMs of non-filers

As agreed between the FBR and mobile phone operators, telecom operators have started blocking SIMs in line with FBR’s Income Tax General Order (ITGO).

The FBR also sent messages to 5,000 individuals, intimating them that their mobile phone SIMs would be blocked if they did not file their returns.

As already notified, the board has sent the second batch of 5,000 non-filers to the telecom companies, which had agreed to initiate the manual blocking process of the SIMs in small batches until their systems were fully equipped to automate it. The third batch of numbers was communicated on Sunday.

Subsequent batches will be sent to them on a daily basis. Moreover, Telecom operators have also commenced sending messages to non-filers regarding blocking of SIMs for intimation purpose.

This collaboration underscores the commitment of FBR and telecom operators to uphold tax regulations and ensure compliance among taxpayers. It also signifies a significant step towards enhancing tax collection and enforcement mechanisms in the country.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024