KARACHI: Pakistan’s tax authority, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), said Thursday it has blocked 210,000 SIM cards of users who have not filed tax returns in a bid to widen the revenue bracket.
Only 5.2 million people of the more than 240 million population filed income tax returns in 2022.
The FBR passed the edict in April and has since sent orders to the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) to block the connections of 210,000 SIM cards, with 62,000 of them later restored, according to the board’s data.
“We have unblocked the SIMs of those who have paid their taxes,” FBR public relations official Bakhtiar Muhammad said.
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“Nobody voluntarily comes up and pays taxes. We have to make ways for the people to pay their taxes.”
Pakistan has more than 192 million cellphone subscribers and four telecommunications service providers, according to the PTA.
Pakistanis must register a SIM card with their national identity number, which is often used for multiple connections.
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“Access to telecom services is a basic human right and essential for many other fundamental services, including access to information, education, and emergency services,” an official at one of the four telecommunications companies told AFP on the condition of anonymity.
“We are in dialogue with the authorities, convincing them to use technology to help increase tax collection, as abrupt measures could disrupt the provision of these critical services.”
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