ISLAMABAD, July 23: The government is preparing a “national strategy” to increase the number of tax return filers to 38.2 million over the medium term from the present number of NTN holders estimated at 1.4 million.

Sources said that the number of NTN holders would be increased to 2 million during 2004-05, for which a major exercise had got under way on the instructions of the higher authorities.

The sources told Dawn that the finance ministry will shortly approve the national strategy currently being finalized by the Central Board of Revenue (CBR).

A meeting of all the regional commissioners of the CBR has been convened at Lahore on July 26 to finalize this strategy.

The sources said the strategy envisages scrutinizing during the current year the real worth of an estimated 28.8 million depositors of the banks and Central Directorate of National Savings (CDNS), 3.6 million WAPDA consumers, 3.5 million fixed telephone holders and 2.3 million mobile phone users.

Vakil Ahmad Khan, member, direct taxes and spokesman of the CBR when contacted confirmed to Dawn that all out efforts were being made to substantially increase the government revenue by chasing tax dodgers and ‘under-reporters’.

He explained that 28.8 million depositors of the banks and CDNS were the “recipients of profit on debt” and as such should pay their tax. “If you exclude couple of millions of widows and small agriculturists the remaining depositors need to pay tax on their profit,” he added.

Mr. Khan assured that those who would be for the first time filing their income tax returns by September 30, would not be subjected to any scrutiny or audit for the previous year. “But let me tell you that there will be no immunity for anyone, for example someone who has purchased a house worth Rs10 million should be ready to disclose his sources of income,” he warned.

Responding to a question, he said that the CBR was expected to collect additional Rs5 billion during the first quarter of 2003- 04 by implementing the proposed national strategy.