It has been reported that more than 10,000 officers from the Federal Board of Revenue have not filed their tax returns for the current year. Sources indicate that a significant portion of these officers falling behind in filing are below grade 17, although the list includes some senior officers as well.
Despite the extension granted for the deadline to file returns, the Board has not taken any action against these officers who have not fulfilled this obligation.
It’s noteworthy that these officers have failed to meet the tax return filing requirement even with the extended deadline. The Federal Board of Revenue has a total of 25,000 officers, with 1,700 in grades 17 and above. Among the senior officers, 300 did not file their returns in 2023, a slight improvement from the previous year’s figure of 500.
In contrast, other departments such as Inland Revenue have seen a more favorable situation, with 88% of officers filing their returns, and Customs reporting that 80% have complied.
One contributing factor to the high ratios of non-compliance is attributed to the extension of the filing deadline, which now extends until December 31.
SBP Allows Online Payment To Merchants From RAAST Payment System
Meanwhile, the State Bank of Pakistan has issued instructions to its Regulated Entities (REs) to enable RAAST Person-to-Merchant (P2M) payment service for their customers.
The Raast P2M system will enable merchants to accept payments through different modes including Unified Quick Response (QR) Codes, Raast Alias (such as mobile phones), bank accounts (IBAN), and Request to Pay (RTP).
The SBP Digital Finance Group Circular issued on December 05, 2023, requires all REs i.e. Banks, Micro Finance Banks (MFBs), Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs), and Payment Service Providers (PSPs) to enable capabilities such as (i) Read/Scan RAAST QR Codes, (ii) Process Request to Pay (Now and Later), (iii) Push Payments to merchant RAAST Aliases and IBANs and (iv) initiate the request for returns/refunds in their respective Apps by March 2024.
The REs have also been instructed to provide efficient, seamless, and easy-to-use interfaces to their customers. Further, REs have been instructed not to charge any fee from their customers using Raast payment options to pay for their transactions.
