SOHAIL SARFRAZ

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has notified a simplified income tax return form for small retailers and shopkeepers having an annual turnover of less than Rs10 million.

The FBR has issued SRO 1955(1)/2022 here on Monday to amend the Income Tax Rules, 2002.

Earlier, the draft of the form was issued through SRO1892(I)/2022 on October 13, 2022, seeking comments of the stakeholders.

President of the association Muhammad Kashif Chaudhry told Business Recorder that if this FBR return form notified through SRO 1955(1)/2022 is issued for small traders, it is out rightly rejected.

First, the form should have been in Urdu language.

Second, it should be simple in Urdu. The form issued under the SRO 1955(1)/2022 is in English language and therefore, it is not acceptable, he added.

He added that the scheme which has been restored under the recently-promulgated Presidential Ordinance was not acceptable to the traders’ community. The association had shared the detailed plan of a simple fixed scheme with the FBR. The fixed tax scheme should be practical for small traders and shopkeepers across the country.

Under the SRO 1955(1)/2022, the new return form would be applicable for the tax year, 2022. According to the simple return form, the traders/retailers have to declare basic information such as business turnover/receipts; electricity bills, cost of sales; opening stocks; purchases; other expenses; closing stocks; gross profits; profit and loss expenses and other information.

Under the notification, the FBR has also prescribed a return form for the individuals and the association of persons (AoPs) having turnover up to Rs50 million.