Abdul Khaliq Qureshi
Abbottabad
Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has issued a circular which has stated that general public has reported complaints against the businessmen who are charging sales tax from consumers without being registered with FBR under the Sales Tax Act-1990.
It is, therefore, clarified that sales tax registration number (STRN) (thirteen digits) is issued to every person who is registered for sales tax purpose and only that person is authorized to change sales tax on his taxable sales except where goods fall under third schedule to the Sales Tax Act-1990.
A business which is not registered for sales tax and does not have an STRN is not authorized to charge sales tax on the invoice.
It is advised in the public interest that an invoice which does not bear a valid STRN should not include any sales tax amount and if any sales tax amount is indicated, the customer is entitled to demand a sales tax invoice with STRN printed on it.
FBR has further clarified that mentioning of NTN is not a substitute for STRN. In order to facilitate the general public and providing a check on abuse of system, FBR has installed a special help line for this matter.
