Islamabad (Commerce Desk) Federal Minister for Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb has introduced a special tax scheme for small shopkeepers and assured them that traders will not be harassed.
Addressing a press conference alongside Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani, Muhammad Aurangzeb said the government is moving forward with the tax system in consultation with traders. He said simplifying the tax system has long been a demand of traders and they have high hopes for the new scheme.
According to the Finance Minister, the FBR and PRAL have made efforts to simplify tax matters for small shopkeepers. He said it was necessary to assure traders that they would not be harassed, but the system cannot be effective without bringing every segment into the tax system.
Bilal Azhar Kayani said small shopkeepers would be able to file tax returns and pay taxes through a mobile phone application. Under the new scheme, they will be exempted from the tax collection system at the point of sale and will be issued a “Green Plate.”
He said an FBR officer would not enter any shop displaying the Green Plate. Small shopkeepers benefiting from the scheme will have to pay a minimum tax of Rs25,000, while the condition is that their sales in any one of the last three years must not have exceeded Rs200 million.