THE government has launched a campaign to increase tax revenue by bringing more businesses into the tax net, which is surely commendable, but there is a strange contradiction here. While the government seems serious and sincere in collecting more revenue, the system it has created is a hurdle for those who want to pay their taxes, but have to face unexpected challenges.

Starting a new business involves significant procedural challenges, particularly in matters relating to registration with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). One of the major difficulties arises from the automatic allocation of taxpayers to the relevant regional tax office (RTO) based on their registered address. Taxpayers falling within the jurisdiction of RTO-II are currently facing difficulties in obtaining sales tax registration without which they cannot proceed with business arrangements and contracts.

In such cases, taxpayers are required to seek transfer of their jurisdiction to some other RTO. Although the jurisdiction transfer process is available online, taxpayers and their consultants are required to make physical visits to both RTOs to obtain no objection certificates (NOCs). This is an unnecessary burden. Once the NOCs have been obtained, the taxpayers have to wait for approval from the relevant FBR office in Islamabad. Taxpayers based in cities other than Islamabad face additional difficulties even in checking out the status of their applications.

Once the jurisdiction is finally transferred and updated in the FBR system, and this may take several uncertain months, the taxpayers are required to then initiate the sales tax registration process all over again.

Those at the helm of FBR affairs should make the process taxpayer-friendly so that the government may actually collect more revenue, and people may conduct their businesses without unnecessary delays.

Ghulam Mujtaba
Karachi

Published in Dawn, November 5th, 2026