FBR Considers Further Tax Relief for Businesses

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has indicated that additional tax relief for businesses is being considered, including possible further cuts in super tax and the sales tax burden, as business representatives raised concerns over high taxation, energy costs, expensive financing and alleged harassment by field formations.

The issue was discussed during a meeting of the Sub-Committee of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance. Business representatives said industries were currently operating at only 40-45% capacity and warned that continued high operating costs could encourage more companies to shift their businesses outside Pakistan.

FBR Member Hamid Ateeq Sarwar said the government had already introduced several tax relief measures since 2025 and was reviewing additional reductions in super tax and sales tax. He said the government had absorbed an estimated revenue impact of around Rs361 billion to provide relief to businesses.

Existing measures include lower taxes for salaried individuals, a reduction in super tax and the complete removal of super tax for exporters. FBR officials said efforts to rationalise the overall tax burden would continue.

Business representatives also demanded reductions in advance and withholding taxes, more rational customs duties, simpler audit procedures and stronger action against excessive notices and enforcement by field offices.

They urged the government to broaden the tax base by bringing new sectors into the formal economy instead of repeatedly increasing the burden on existing taxpayers.

The FBR also outlined new taxpayer facilitation measures, including a mobile application for tax reimbursements and designated facilitation days in major commercial centres. Exporter facilitation committees have also been established in Karachi, Lahore, Sialkot, Faisalabad, Islamabad and Multan.

The committee discussed the ongoing goods transport strike and its impact on commercial activity, particularly the risk of losses to perishable goods and increasing container detention charges. Convener Muhammad Talha Mahmood called for immediate negotiations with transporters to restore normal trade activity.

Mahmood also proposed restoring taxpayers' accounts within 24 to 48 hours once genuine errors in tax returns have been corrected, along with the development of a more efficient biometric verification system.