FBR concerned over Sindh govt employees not filing tax returns

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has raised concern over the fact that only 17,000 of the total 93,000 employees of the Sindh government earning the taxable salary have been submitting tax returns.

In this regard, the commissioner Inland Revenue, Withholding Zone-V, RTO-III, Karachi has sent a correspondence to the Sindh chief secretary on July 11.

“Filing of return of income by employees of Sindh Government earning taxable salary: Tax year 2018” was the letter’s subject.

“Your kind attention is invited to the fact that this office obtained data of employees working in Sindh government from the AG (Accountant General Sindh). The data shows that around 93,000 employees are earning taxable salary, while only 17,000 are filing their return of income,” the letter read.

The chief secretary was told that the Section 114 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 required every individual earning taxable income to furnish their return of income but it had been noted that most of the Sindh government employees were not doing so because they wrongly assumed that as tax was automatically deducted from their salaries at the time of payment, the filing of tax returns was not mandatory for them.

“It is also noted with concern that even BS-20 officers are not filing their return,” the letter read.

The chief secretary was requested to issue directions to all the government employees working under him to fulfil their legal obligation by filing return of income for the tax year 2018. The letter also stated that the last date for the filing of returns for the tax year 2018 had been extended till August 2.

The letter read that if the provincial government employees required technical assistance for filing tax returns online, they would be provided help.

Sources privy to the affair said the office of the AG Sindh has to beef up its working to urge the Sindh government employees earning the taxable income to file their tax returns.