FBR Recovers Rs7.81B from Non-Filers in 5 Years

Islamabad, July 25, 2025, 07:15 PM PKT — Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Bilal Azhar Kayani has revealed a major crackdown, informing the Upper House that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) recovered Rs7.81 billion in penalties from non-filers across five tax years (2019-20 to 2023-24) during Question Hour, per official statements. The haul includes Rs410.32 million in 2019-20, Rs1.17 billion in 2020-21, Rs840.67 million in 2021-22, Rs1.92 billion in 2022-23, and Rs3.47 billion in 2023-24, driven by stricter policies, enforcement measures, and harsher penalties—financial, legal, and transactional—to narrow the filer-non-filer gap and boost compliance.

The minister highlighted higher withholding rates and penalty recoveries as revenue enhancers, aiming to eliminate the non-filer category and expand the tax net, with FBR’s transformation under weekly PM reviews. Separately, two audits of the State Warehouse (Valuables) at Lahore Customs House in 2019 exposed embezzlement of 43 articles, including 36 currency items and 7 gold/silver items. Web context shows tax enforcement trends, while posts found on X reflect mixed views—some praise progress, others question fairness. Critically, the narrative of “tax compliance” may mask enforcement inconsistencies—web data hints at past lapses, and X sentiment suggests distrust in equitable application, pointing to ongoing challenges.