ISLAMABAD – Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday stopped the government from blocking mobile phone SIMs of the non-filer.
IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq issued the order on a petition from a mobile phone company against the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) move to block SIM cards of potential tax payers, who are not filing the returns.
The Chief Justice has issued a stay order till May 27 on the mobile phone company’s request and restrained the government from blocking SIMs of tax non-filers.
It is recalled that the FBR and telecom operators recently reached an agreement to block SIMS of non-filers and the process was started on May 10 when SIMs of more than 3,000 non-filers were blocked in the first phase.
Earlier this month, the federal government had directed the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and the other telecom companies to block mobile phone SIMs of over 500,000 non-filers.
In a statement, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) said: “In exercise of the powers conferred under section 114B of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, the FBR is pleased to issue this Income Tax General Order (ITGO) to disable the mobile phone SIMs in respect of following persons who are not appearing on active taxpayer list but are liable to file the Income Tax Return for Tax Year 2023 under the provisions of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001.”
The FBR asked the PTA and all telecom operators to ensure compliance with the Income Tax General Order (ITGO) with immediate effect. “
The mobile SIMs in respect of the above-mentioned individuals will remain blocked until restored by FBR or the Commissioner Inland Revenue having jurisdiction of the person.”
