THIS is with reference to the letter ‘Queries for FBR’ (Aug 7), which put forward some relevant questions for the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to answer in order to clarify how it plans to proceed with its plan to block the SIM cards of income tax non-filers. However, it is surprising and regrettable that the FBR has failed to clear the air on this critical matter.

For instance, I live in Bahrain and have a pre-paid Pakistani SIM for the last more than 25 years. My family and I use it while visiting Pakistan, and bring it back after every visit. Most Pakistanis living abroad, if not all of them, keep a SIM to establish contact with their families when they land at any Pakistani airport. Since my SIM is out of mobile phone currently, I am not aware if it has already gone dead or soon will be.

A few years ago, according to a news report at the time, the Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) had launched a probe into ‘unlawful’ compulsion on non-resident Pakistanis to file tax returns. After taking input from the relevant govern- ment official, the FTO had clarified that non-resident Pakistanis were not obliged to file returns against their earnings except when they have any income inside Pakistan, like rent from property, bank profit, etc. I wonder if the FBR officials are conversant with the said FTO ruling.

My daughter is working here in Bahrain. She has no property income or share di- vidends except for approximately Rs6,000 profit per year from her savings account. While the government is never tired of boasting that the remittances as well as investment from overseas Pakistanis is exempted from any tax, a withholding tax of 30 per cent on this profit is ded- ucted from the account as my daughter, technically, is a ‘non-filer’ in the records. This happens despite the fact that her annual income remains way below the minimum Rs600,000 mark after which one is legally bound to file a return.

The FBR would do well to clarify how exactly it plans to block the SIM cards of income tax non-filers. Who is a non-filer in this context? Will the overseas Pakistanis stand to get affected on this count?

Muhammad Javed
Bahrain

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2024