Latest news with #TaxLaws(Amendment)Ordinance2025
Business Recorder
a day ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
IHC halts FBR tax recovery under Tax Laws Ord, 2025
ISLAMABAD: In a major development, Islamabad High Court (IHC) has stopped the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) from immediate tax recovery against taxpayers under the controversial Tax Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025. In this regard, IHC has issued an order on Tuesday in favour of the private limited companies (petitioners). The National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance has also categorically conveyed to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) that the government has bypassed Parliament for promulgating Tax Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025, and urgently communicated ordinance to the FBR's field formations for recovery from taxpayers. Tax laws bill: NA panel defers Sec 114C until FBR system overhaul According to the order of the IHC, the court has issued notices to the FBR to submit comments and meanwhile, no coercive measure to be taken by the FBR against the petitioners. The petitioners have requested the IHC to declare that the Tax Laws (Amendment) Ordinance 2025, promulgated on May 2, 2025, as Ultra Vires of the Constitution and void ab initio. IHC should declare that sections 138 (3A), 140(6A), 175 C of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 (as amended), and section 27 (4) of the Federal Excise Act, 2005 are inconsistent with Articles 4, 8, 10-A, 18, and 25 of the Constitution, hence void. IHC should suspend the operation of impugned Tax Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025 dated 02.05.2025, till pendency of this Writ Petition and restrain the Respondents (FBR) from enforcing or taking any coercive action under the impugned provisions till pendency of this Writ Petition, petitioners added. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Business Recorder
24-05-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Tax ordinance will be reviewed, SAPM tells FPCCI
KARACHI: Haroon Akhtar Khan, Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) for Industries & Production, has assured a high-profile FPCCI delegation that the government will review the Tax Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025, in the light of apex body's recommendations to help resolve the profound grievances of the entire business, industry and trade community of Pakistan. This was informed by Atif Ikram Sheikh, President FPCCI, President ECO-CCI and VP CACCI, after the meeting with SAPM on Friday. Sheikh led a senior delegation of the business community to meet Haroon Akhtar on several issues including Tax Laws (Amendment) Ordinance 2025, highhandedness of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), tax & tariff barriers in doing business in the country and the issues of Dangerous Petroleum Liquids. 'The meeting with SAPM and assurance is a resounding success of the rigorous policy advocacy endeavours on this critical issue of national significance,' he said. FPCCI demands reviewing Income Tax Amendment Ordinance During the meeting, Haroon Akhtar reiterated his commitment to playing a proactive role in resolving the problems faced by the business community. Additionally, he informed that Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has given clear instructions to formulate problem-solving committees and advised to take business community on board in the policymaking consultations. FPCCI President maintained that all chambers, trade bodies and associations have grave reservations and apprehensions on Income Tax (Amendment) Ordinance 2025, as they believe that it will give rise to avenues of harassment, corruption and maladministration. He explained that it is an established fact and practice globally that the more a tax collector is allowed to intervene or interact with the taxpayer, the more it is likely to undermine the principles of fairness, transparency and impartiality due to the increased role of human-to-human interaction, and human judgement becomes a nuisance. 'Therefore, we do not need to reinvent the wheel in this matter', he added. Saquib Fayyaz Magoon, SVP FPCCI, apprised that during the meeting with SAPM, he decided to extend the six-month exemption granted till May 25, 2025 by another 6 months vis-à-vis 'Dangerous Petroleum Liquids' on FPCCI's demand. 'We need to define DPL well and resolve the transportation, availability, storage and regulatory issues vis-à-vis important raw materials for the industry and manufacturing in the form of chemicals,' he added. Hamid Arshad Zahur, Chairman of Pakistan Tanners' Association and Haroon Ali Khan, Chairman of Pakistan Chemical Manufacturers Association (PCMA), were also part of the FPCCI delegation. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Business Recorder
18-05-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Failures in POS integration system: Chainstore Association concerned at deteriorating environment for tax-compliant retailers
LAHORE: The Chainstore Association of Pakistan, representing the country's organized retail sector, on Saturday, expressed grave concern over the deteriorating environment for tax-compliant retailers due to aggressive revenue enforcement and persistent failures in the FBR-POS integration system. Comprising a large portion of Pakistan's retail and wholesale trade, the organized retail sector directly employs over one million people and supports a wide ecosystem including shopping malls, manufacturers, service providers, and the cottage industry. Retail brands are also a growing contributor to export earnings through physical stores abroad and cross-border e-commerce. Despite being early adopters of the FBR-POS system and generating 25–30% of their turnover in taxes, compliant Tier-1 retailers are now facing a perfect storm of high tax rates, increasingly complex procedures, punitive enforcement, and unresolved system issues. This year alone, several regulatory instruments including SRO 69(I)/2025, SRO 55(I)/2025 and the Tax Laws (Amendment) Ordinance 2025—have exacerbated compliance burdens without addressing critical FBR-POS system deficiencies. These include issues such as (1) POS profile expiry disconnections, rendering invoices unverifiable; (2) Incorrect POS status flags showing 'disconnected' despite active syncing; and (3) Weak support capacity of Pakistan Revenue Automation Limited (PRAL) to address technical challenges. Compounding these technical issues is an increasingly punitive enforcement approach. Several compliant outlets experiencing system errors have been sealed without prior notice, and many retailers report being pressured to pay penalties exceeding Rs500,000 per outlet to reopen, apparently to increase short-term tax collections. Such measures erode business confidence, damage reputations, and undermine long-term documentation efforts. 'We fully support strict action against wilful tax evasion, but the current approach is causing heavy collateral damage,' said Asfandyar Farrukh, Chairperson of CAP. 'Law-abiding retailers are being penalised for compliance, while vast sections of the informal market remain untouched. This is not reform it is a rollback in the making.' The reversal of key incentives has further compounded the crisis. The discontinuation of the 10–15% concessional GST rate for customers of integrated retailers has rendered many businesses uncompetitive vs the untaxed and undertaxed majority, leading to network consolidation and closures. In recent years, this reform vacuum has stalled employment growth, investment, and even export potential. CAP also calls for formal inclusion in policymaking processes to ensure that ongoing and future reforms are informed by on-ground realities. 'Compliant retailers who invested in technology and compliance should be recognized as partners in reform. CAP and its members wholeheartedly support broadening of the retail tax base - but it must be fair, functional, and future-focused,' said Tariq Mehboob Rana, CAP Patron-in-Chief. 'Unless the current issues are urgently addressed, years of progress towards the growth of the documented sector risk being reversed.' Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Business Recorder
15-05-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
‘Tax Law Ordinance can negatively impact businessmen'
KARACHI: Chairman of the Businessmen Panel (BMP) and former FPCCI president Mian Anjum Nisar stated that the recently enforced Tax Laws (Amendment) Ordinance 2025 was issued without consulting relevant stakeholders, and no parliamentary debate was held on the matter. He warned that this ordinance could negatively impact the business community and undermine the rule of law. He added that a BMP delegation will soon meet with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to discuss these pressing concerns. Anjum Nisar expressed these views while speaking at a dinner hosted by former FPCCI president Mian Nasser Hyatt Maggo. The dinner was also attended by Abdul Rahim Janoo, Zikriya Usman, Rafique Suleman, Haji Usman Ghani, Hanif Lakhani, Suleman Chawla, and Sultan Rehman. He further stated that the extraordinary powers granted to tax authorities through the ordinance are akin to 'economic terrorism' and cannot be accepted. Mian Nasser Hyatt Maggo highlighted the multiple challenges faced by the business sector, particularly importers, who face frequent disruptions that increase import costs. He urged the government to pay serious attention to these issues. He also praised the Pakistan Army for its timely and effective action under the leadership of General Asim Munir, which he said dealt a heavy blow to Indian aggression and proved Pakistan's defense capabilities to the world. Abdul Rahim Janoo rejected the recently amended Tax Ordinance 2025, calling it anti-economy, unconstitutional, and poisonous for investment. He said rice exporters are striving to boost national exports and demanded that the government provide them with the same incentives granted to the five other export sectors. Rahim Janoo noted that the rice sector is currently facing serious challenges in the international market but expressed hope that the REAP delegation currently in Australia would secure positive business opportunities. Rafique Suleman strongly objected to the implementation of Sections 138(3A) and 140(6A) of the Income Tax Ordinance, which allow for the immediate recovery of disputed tax dues, even when courts have granted relief. He said this undermines the sanctity of judicial decisions, violates taxpayers' constitutional rights to due process, and promotes a coercive tax regime. Suleman also praised the exceptional leadership of Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir and his comprehensive strategy, which he said not only led to battlefield success but also boosted national morale and exposed India to global embarrassment following its cowardly nighttime attack. The business leaders reiterated their commitment to addressing these issues seriously and announced that plans are being made for an imminent meeting with the prime minister. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Express Tribune
14-05-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Retailers denounce harassment, POS glitches
Listen to article The Chainstore Association of Pakistan (CAP), the official trade body representing the country's organised retail sector, has expressed grave concern over the deteriorating environment for tax-compliant retailers due to aggressive revenue enforcement measures and persistent failure of the Federal Board of Revenue's (FBR) Point of Sales (POS) integration system. Comprising a large portion of Pakistan's retail and wholesale trade, the organised retail sector directly employs over one million people and supports a wide ecosystem, including shopping malls, manufacturers, service providers and the cottage industry. Retail brands are also growing contributors to export earnings through physical stores abroad and cross-border e-commerce. Despite being the early adopters of POS system and generating 25-30% of their turnover in taxes, the compliant tier-1 retailers are now facing a perfect storm of high taxes, increasingly complex procedures, punitive enforcement and unresolved system issues, the association claimed. This year alone, several regulatory instruments, including SRO 69(I)/2025, SRO 55(I)/2025 and the Tax Laws (Amendment) Ordinance 2025, have exacerbated the compliance burden without addressing POS system deficiencies. These include POS profile expiry disconnections, rendering invoices unverifiable; incorrect POS status flags showing "disconnected" despite active syncing; and weak support capacity of the Pakistan Revenue Automation Limited (PRAL) to address technical challenges.
