KARACHI, July 13: The Sales Tax Chief of Central Board of Revenue (CBR), Iftikhar Qutub, has ruled out any downward revision in existing rate of 15 per cent sales tax.

“We cannot cut the rate because of small tax base,” he said while addressing taxpayers on Saturday at the launching of Urdu Translation of Sales Tax Act, 1990.

He said last fiscal (2001-02) there had been a collection of Rs153 billion as sales tax and for the current fiscal (2002-03) the target has been set at Rs200 billion.

Qutub said that taxation laws needed changes because there was no compliance of the existing tax structure.

He said the non-filers of sales tax, who had earlier got themselves registered but later did not turn up, were also being approached by CBR.

He said rules and regulations for tax consultants have also been notified. These consultants today pay a special role in tax advisory services and help the people understand tax laws.

He clarified that there was no documentation in Sales Tax Act, but mentioned were the tax rates, penalties, obligations and rights of the tax payers.

Qutub further asked the Sales Tax Advisory Services (SAS), which had launched Urdu version of the Act, to translate basic rules of sales tax also so that people could have better understanding of the laws.

He said ST was fast becoming the leading tax of this country. “Ten years back, this tax was 4th in rank but today it is the number one source of tax collection.”

He said GST has good potential, and if it did not succeed the whole system of the country will collapse.

Earlier, former chief of Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI), Zubair Motiwala urged the CBR to cut the rate of GST from 15 per cent to 5 per cent which would guarantee 100 per cent sales tax collection.

The head of SAS, Shoaib Afridi later presented the Urdu version of the Sales Tax Act to Iftikhar Qutub.—APP