Following multiple discussions with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), the telecom operators decided to manually restrict non-filers’ SIM cards in small batches until their systems were ready to handle the procedure automatically, according to a statement released on Friday.
It said that in order to address the enforcement of measures to disable the SIM cards of 506,671 people who failed to file their taxes for the tax year 2023 under its Income Tax General Order (ITGO), the FBR was holding a number of meetings with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and telecom operators around the nation.
The first batch, which consisted of 5,000 non-filers, was notified to the telecom carriers on Friday for “compliance regarding SIM blockage,” it continued.
On Saturday, or today, the FBR called the telecom providers’ representatives to discuss the compliance report pertaining to the blocking of these SIMs.
The telecom providers will receive two additional batches of 5,000 non-filers each on Saturday and Sunday.
“They will receive subsequent batches on a daily basis. Additionally, telecom companies have started notifying [the] non-filers through texts about SIM banning for notification purposes.
According to the statement, this partnership demonstrated the FBR’s and telecom operators’ dedication to enforcing tax laws and guaranteeing taxpayer compliance.
“It also represents a noteworthy advancement in the nation’s tax enforcement and collection systems.”
In a connected move, the government has approved the FBR’s implementation of “Plan B,” which calls for the non-filers to pay extra withholding tax.
Additionally, under this plan, telecom providers that disobey the order to block the SIM cards of persons who have not filed their income taxes for 2023 will face legal prosecution.
After May 15, FBR sources say that the non-filers would face consequences.
In addition, the application of an extra 2.5% tax to the SIMs of non-filers is being contemplated.
According to the sources, a non-filer was subject to additional taxes each time they used their calling and mobile data plans, as well as every time they recharged their SIM balance.
They said that the PTA had received the data regarding the SIMs of non-filers who were to be blocked.
The FBR may consider suing the relevant phone operators if the SIMs of non-filers are not blocked by May 15.
The sources went on to say that the FBR will conduct talks about this and file a lawsuit against the telecom providers that were disobeying the ITGO.
The telecom companies opposed the IGTO despite the FBR issuing it. They filed a letter to the PTA and IT ministry stating that they were required to offer their consumers with uninterrupted services, with the exception of situations listed in the Telecom Act and related regulations.
They clarified that there was never a situation in which they could cut off or prevent service to any client.
But after the discussions with the FBR, they seem to have had second thoughts.
