Khalid Pervez, president of the All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajran, has rejects SRO 608 on behalf of the traders’ community, threatening a countrywide protest campaign against the new law. The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) had enforced sales tax on retailers, requiring the registered retailers to issue invoices through the Fiscal Electronic Cash Register (FECR) with real-time access to the FBR officials for scrutiny of the sales and purchase data. The FBR also allowed on-site physical inspection authorised by the commissioner Inland Revenue.
According to another report by Customs Today, Attique Mir, the chairman of All Karachi Tajir Ittehad, has also rejected SRO, saying that sales tax officials will not be allowed to enter markets and business centers. The business circles claim that the ‘real representatives’ of the traders have not been consulted before enforcing the ‘one-sided decisions against retailers’ and that the enforcement of the sales tax rules without allaying fears of unregistered retailers, wholesalers and factory owners will be unacceptable.
As a matter of fact, the traders’ community has been observing continuous amendments to the income tax and sales tax laws for quite some time with suspicions and has vowed to resist if they are raided by the FBR officials.
A majority of taxpayers have not submitted their tax returns while the registered traders are also reluctant to accept the new rules. On another note, the FBR has rejected media reports that the new law would ‘opens doors to corruption’ denying that the commissioners of Inland Revenue have been given extra discretionary powers under the new rules. The FBR claims that though many concessions in existing SROs are either withdrawn or reduced in the budget 2014-15, a limited number of concessions still continued.
It is the dilemma of the nation that laws are enacted easily, but the government departments lack capacity at the implementation stage. Tough rules and regulations often provide extra powers to the government officials which they use for vested interest. It is hoped that both the government and traders will resolve the sales tax amicably and without any trouble.
