November 2, 2001	Friday	Shaba’an 15, 1422

ISLAMABAD, Nov 1: The government has postponed the third phase of tax survey to be carried out in 17 cities owing to the prevailing situation perhaps till the next financial year, informed sources told Dawn on Thursday on assurance of anonymity.

The third phase of tax survey was scheduled to start from the mid of October but following the ongoing US-led attacks on Afghanistan, the government had deferred it.

The cities selected for third phase included Mardan, Swabi, Nowshera, Kohat, Mansehra, Dera Ismail Khan, Attock, Wazirabad, Mandi Bahauddin, Khanewal, Chiniot, Chichawatni, Jhang, Khairpur, Shikarpur, Kotri and Thatta.

“The government would not be in a position to conduct the third phase of survey as the businessmen were already facing serious financial problems due to recession in the market,” the sources remarked.

However, it did not mean that the government had abandoned it. It would be carried out whenever the prevailing situation would become normal, he said.

When asked about the possible date, the sources said although the next date for the third phase of survey had not been decided, it was possible to be launched from the next financial year. Five cities were reportedly deleted from the proposed survey to be carried out in the remaining cities, whereas no city has been selected in the third phase from Bolochistan, the source said.

Another official source in the CBR told Dawn that so far CBR has prepared over one million profile with the ratio of 70 per cent residential forms and 30 per cent business forms retrieved during the first phase of survey.

After the in-depth analysis of 50 per cent of residential forms, it was detected that at least 25 per cent people were not in the tax net, while their profit were taxable.

It means that 80,000 people had declared their taxable income and properties during the first phase of survey, which would now be registered as regular taxpayers with the income tax department.

Similarly, as many as 35,000 persons would be registered as new sales taxpayers, who voluntarily declared their sales in the survey form, making themselves liable to sales tax.

The sources said that PRAL would soon start in-depth analysis of the forms retrieved during the second phase of tax survey.

“We have collected sufficient data from the tax survey, which would be utilized during the current financial year,” the source claimed.

The survey teams have distributed 1.8 million forms in 26 cities of the country and received 1.5 million.