The government has decided to launch a crackdown on one million non-filers following the failure of its fixed tax scheme for retailers.
Briefing a Senate committee, Federal Board of Revenue Chairman Rashid Langrial warned that retailers would face strict action if they did not enter the tax net.
Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani said the government would have to adopt a “carrot and stick” policy.
According to FBR officials, only 600,000 of the country’s 4.3 million retailers are tax filers, while 3.7 million remain outside the tax net.
The FBR acknowledged that its one per cent fixed tax scheme had failed to attract a satisfactory response from retailers. It said a crackdown would be launched against one million non-filers who had not taken advantage of the scheme, which the authority described as highly favourable.
