ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has added more categories of persons to exempt from filing annual return of income.
The FBR issued Circular No. 04 to explain the important changes made to Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 through Finance Act, 2017.
The FBR said that amendment had been made in Section 115 of the Ordinance to enlarge the scope of persons not required to file a return of income. Prior to the Finance Act, 2017 under section 115(3) of the Ordinance, a widow, an orphan below the age of 25 years, a disabled person and in the case of ownership of immovable property, a non-resident person was not legally obliged to furnish a return of income solely on account of owning immovable property with a land area of 250 square yards or more or any flat located in areas falling within the municipal limits (existing immediately before the commencement of Local Government laws in the provinces),areas in a cantonment or the Islamabad Capital Territory.
Through the Finance Act, 2017 the scope of the concession/relief accorded to the aforementioned category of persons has been enlarged, resultantly, such persons shall forthwith not be required to file return of income solely by reason of:-
(i) owning immovable property with a land area of 500 square yards or more located in a rating area;
(ii), owning a flat having a covered area of 2000 square feet or more located in a rating area and
(m) owning a motor vehicle having engine capacity above 1000CC.