ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue will begin freezing bank accounts of non-filers in the fiscal year 2025–26, FBR Chairman Rashid Mahmood Langrial told the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance on Friday.
The committee, chaired by Syed Naveed Qamar, met to review enforcement measures targeting individuals and businesses not registered for sales tax. Langrial said formal notices will be issued to non-registered entities, and accounts will be frozen if registration is not completed. Accounts will be unfrozen within two days of compliance, he added.
The FBR noted that many businesses file income tax but remain outside the sales tax net, including factories with multiple industrial meters. Officials said several unregistered factories in Karachi alone are involved in billions of rupees in sales.
Committee member Usman Ahmed Mela opposed sealing properties of non-registered businesses, calling it excessive. Langrial said the freeze action would be limited to large-scale manufacturers and would not apply to small retailers or cottage industries.
Naveed Qamar criticized the FBR’s enforcement tactics, asking, “First you cut their electricity and gas, now you’re shutting bank accounts too.”
FBR officials said many operators in Karachi avoid taxes by shifting locations frequently, running high-volume manufacturing units on a single plot before relocating.
Mirza Ikhtiar Baig, another committee member, proposed raising the sales registration threshold from Rs8 million to Rs10 million due to inflation. He said stricter measures should not apply to small traders.
Langrial agreed to increase the threshold and said around two-thirds of manufacturing units remain unregistered. He offered a six-month grace period for new registrants during which no sales tax would be collected.
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