FBR announces cash back on sales tax to encourage documentation

KARACHI: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Wednesday allowed customers to get five percent cash back on sales tax paid on purchases from retailers that are integrated with the FBR’s online system.

The amount of five percent of the sales tax paid to the integrated retailers can be redeemed through FBR’s wallet account.

In order to encourage documentation of the economy, an important amendment was made into the Sales Tax Act, 1990 through Finance Act, 2019. According to the amendment, the customers of tier-1 retailers are entitled to receive cash back of up to five percent of the tax involved.

The FBR after one and a half years of the introduction of the law has launched procedures to pay pack the customers of tier-1 retailers.

According to the procedure for cash back, the customers are required to sign up to the Tax Asaan mobile application of the FBR. By this way, the customers will create an FBR wallet account.

The customers are required to verify the electronically generated invoice through the mobile application.

As soon as the electronically generated invoice is verified, the system shall automatically calculate the five percent amount of the tax paid on the invoice, according to the procedure.

The FBR said a customer may redeem the earned amount within one month of his purchases accumulated in his FBR wallet account on any approved outlet who shall refund the amount accumulated in the wallet account of the customer after ensuring that the earned amount is transferred from the customer’s wallet account to the approved outlets wallet account.

“The approved outlet shall adjust the amount so refunded to the customer which shall be automatically uploaded from the approved outlet’s wallet account to the sales tax return of the approved outlet for the relevant tax period by auto adjusting the output tax liability,” the FBR added.

Customers of tier-1 retailers, which are defined under Section 43A of Sales Tax Act, 1990, can redeem the amount.

The tier-1 retailers are required to integrate their all point of sales with the FBR's online system for recording of supplies and purchases. The tier-1 retailers have been defined as retailers who are operating as a unit of a national or international chain of stores; operating in an air-conditioned shipping mall, plaza or center, excluding kiosks; a retailer whose cumulative electricity bill during the immediately preceding 12 consecutive months exceeds Rs1.2 million.