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ISLAMABAD: With the expiry of the deadline for filing Income Tax returns, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has received a lukewarm response from millions of retailers, as only 1,750 have availed the fixed retailers scheme but only 220 are fresh filers.
On the other hand, the FBR has so far collected Rs4,088.2 billion in the first four months (July-Oct) period against the desired target of Rs4,217.2 billion, registering a shortfall in the range of Rs129 billion. The FBR has so far achieved a growth of only 7 per cent in the first four months, but it requires a growth of 17 per cent in order to fetch Rs15,264 billion by June 30, 2027.
The total received income tax returns stand at 7.6 million so far till the last date of October 31, 2026. The FBR granted two extensions in filing of income tax returns from September 30 to October 15, 2026, and then from October 15 to October 31, 2026. “There will be no more extension in filing of returns after the expiry of October 31, 2026 deadline,” said an FBR official on the condition of anonymity.
The FBR had collected Rs4,061.2 billion till October 30, 2026. Now the collection went up to Rs4,088.2 billion. The FBR’s collection in October stands at Rs1,002 billion, as the tax collection increased from Rs975 billion to Rs1,002 billion on the last day of October 31, 2026.
The most worrying part of the pathetic response from retailers is the fixed scheme. According to the FBR estimates, there are 3.6 million potential non-filers in the retail sector, but only 1,750 availed this scheme. There are only 220 retailers who are fresh filers under this scheme, said the official sources.
Now the FBR has been left with no other options but to impose a penalty against non-filers, as the board is empowered to slap a Rs10,000 fine in the first month, Rs25,000 in the second month, and Rs50,000 in the third month on those who prefer to remain outside the tax net. Then the FBR is authorised to seal the premises of those retailers who will not come into the tax net.
The FBR had set a tax collection target of Rs50 billion for this retailers’ scheme, but the weak response from them put the government in an awkward position. The government launched this scheme to bring at least 0.2 to 0.5 million potential retailers in the tax net. Still, the poor response has left the government in the lurch, having no clue how to handle this situation.
The FBR has made plans to identify potential retailers by doing geo-tagging of markets in posh areas of major urban centres to identify those who must have come into the tax net.
