ISLAMABAD: In a decisive move to enforce tax compliance, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has blocked 228,000 mobile SIMs of non-filers of income tax returns. This action is part of FBR’s ongoing efforts under the recently issued Income Tax General Order.
According to FBR officials, this initiative is being implemented in collaboration with telecom companies, which are responsible for blocking SIMs of non-filers as per the batch sent by FBR. Compliance reports are provided by telecom companies on a regular basis.
The FBR has said that 62,000 of the blocked SIMs have been reactivated after the concerned users submitted their income tax returns. This reactivation reflects FBR’s commitment to encourage non-filers to comply with tax regulations.
Officials further disclosed that the FBR continues to send data of 5,000 mobile SIMs to telecom companies every day, with the aim of blocking a total of 506,671 SIMs of non-filers.
It is worth noting that the FBR had recently issued an Income Tax General Order to block more than 5 million mobile SIMs of people who have not filed their Income Tax returns. The order is part of a broader strategy to improve tax collection and compliance across the country.