ISLAMABAD – Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Rashid Mahmood Langrial announced that bank accounts of non-filers will be frozen in the fiscal year 2025-26 if they fail to register for sales tax.
This statement was made during a session of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance, headed by Syed Naveed Qamar, where the issue of bringing unregistered individuals and businesses into the tax net was discussed.
Langrial explained that formal notices will be issued to non-registered entities, and failure to comply will lead to freezing of their bank accounts. However, once the required registration is completed, the accounts will be restored within 48 hours.
He pointed out that although many businesses file income tax returns, they avoid sales tax registration. Notably, several factories in Karachi operate on a large scale without registering, generating billions in revenue.
Committee member Usman Ahmed Mela voiced his opposition to sealing properties of non-compliant businesses, calling it a harsh measure. The FBR chairman clarified that such actions would be directed only at large manufacturing units and not small businesses or cottage industries.
Naveed Qamar criticized the FBR’s aggressive approach, remarking, “You’ve already cut off their electricity and gas — now you’re going after their bank accounts too?”
FBR officials explained that numerous businesses in Karachi avoid taxation by regularly changing their locations, operating on one plot before moving to another.
Another committee member, Mirza Ikhtiar Baig, stressed that strict actions should not target small traders. He proposed raising the sales registration threshold from Rs 8 million to Rs 10 million due to inflation.
Chairman Langrial agreed to the suggestion, confirming that the threshold will be revised. He also revealed that nearly two-thirds of manufacturing units remain unregistered and proposed a six-month grace period without sales tax collection for new registrants.
