PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Revenue Authority (KPRA) has begun a focused monitoring and enforcement campaign in marriage halls and eateries around the province as the wedding season begins with the approaching winter season to help improve tax compliance by these sectors.

Teams comprising assistant collectors and inspectors have been tasked with visiting wedding halls and restaurants as part of a special drive to improve compliance through in-person visits and to provide on-the-spot support to management by addressing their issues directly, according to a statement issued here on Wednesday.

Teams of KPRA are conducting visits to wedding halls and restaurants in Peshawar and other districts to check records and educate the managements regarding sales tax on services.

The teams are also issuing instructions to ensure that the managements of the businesses pay their sales tax on services based on their actual sales, avoid tax evasion, underreporting, and submit their monthly sales returns on time, according to the statement.

KPRA Director General Fauzia Iqbal highlighted that the timely payment of sales tax on services was essential for a financially self-reliant Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

“We urge taxpayers and the business community to pay their taxes on time, submit their returns regularly, and play their role in the development of our country,” she said in the statement.

To make tax compliance easier for wedding halls, KPRA has introduced a fixed tax regime alongside the percentage-based system. Under this new regime, wedding halls have been categorised based on their size, with a fixed tax applied to each category.

This tax is to be collected from clients on a per-event basis and deposited directly into KPRA’s account.

Ms Iqbal emphasised that KPRA was committed to making the tax payment process simpler, more accessible and their teams were actively engaged in guiding taxpayers.

Published in Dawn, October 31st, 2024