KARACHI: FBR Member (Inland Revenue Policy) Shahid Hussain Asad on Friday admitted that Prime Minister’s Tax Incentive Scheme failed to produce desired results.

He said the scheme announced on February 28, 2014 did not produce expected response though the government accommodated the private sector by introducing amendments and extending the deadline to April 30, 2014.

Speaking at a workshop on Sales Tax Laws on Services jointly organised by Pakistan Tax Bar Association (PTBA) and Karachi Tax Bar Association (KTBA) Mr Shahid said that of 3.5 million holders of National Tax Number (NTN) one million filed returns in 2012-13.

He informed that the government was actively considering to make a law that all transactions that include property and all other private spending at shops and restaurants, etc be made accessible to FBR online by making it compulsory for buyers to provide CNIC for every transaction. Shahid Hussain said growing number of huge shopping malls and restaurants were making big profits but no tax revenue was coming from these commercial establishments.

Referring to the differences between the provinces over the tax collection on services on the basis of origin or destination, the FBR member said that the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the provincial and federal tax collecting agencies was a milestone.

The FBR member said India’s tax-to-GDP ratio stood at 16 per cent of which 6 per cent was contributed by states and 10 per cent by the central government. Against this Pakistan’s tax-to-GDP ratio was 8.5 per cent.

In India tax on services is collected by central government and on goods by states whereas in Pakistan it is the other way around, he added.

Speakers who read papers in the workshop were Adnan Mufti, Asif Haroon and Asif S Kasbati, while KTBA President Haider A Patel, PTBA president Munawwar H Shaikh and PTBA Academy of Taxation chairman Abdul Qadir Memon also spoke on the occasion.

Iftikhar Qutub chairman Punjab Revenue Authority, Raheal Ahmad Siddiqui secretary Excise and Taxation-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Dawood Pirzada and Mushtaq Kazmi from Sindh Revenue Board participated in panel discussion.