FBR collects Rs178.306bn withholding tax

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue has collected Rs178.306 billion by deducting withholding tax on various accounts during the first eight months (July-Feb) of 2009-10, including Rs8.3 billion on cash withdrawals from banks on transaction exceeding Rs25,000.

On prize bonds, the FBR collected Rs1.310 billion in the first eight months of the current fiscal year.

The commission from advertising agents at the rate of 5 per cent helped the FBR to get Rs167.996 million. On all kinds of commissions, the FBR has collected Rs1.584 billion so far. On purchase of shares at 0.01 per cent, the FBR achieved Rs487 million; on trading of shares at 0.01 per cent Rs13.361 million and on financing of CFS (badla) at the rate of 10 per cent Rs0.206 million in the first eight months of the current fiscal.

However, the tax authorities also found that there are several withholding agents, who are deducting taxes but they are not depositing the full amount in the national kitty.

“We have unearthed discrepancies in banks and other public as well as private sector institutions from which the whole deducted amount is not being deposited in the national kitty,” a senior official of the FBR said while talking to The News.

According to detailed data of tax collection obtained by The News on Saturday, the FBR collected Rs8.3 billion in the first eight months of the current fiscal year in shape of 0.3 per cent of WHT on cash withdrawal from banks exceeding Rs25,000 per transaction compared with a collection of Rs7.1 billion in the same period of the previous financial year.

He said the FBR collected over Rs8 billion in shape of withholding tax on electricity bills.

In the first eight months, the FBR received Rs31 billion withholding tax on imports, Rs18.8 billion on salaries, Rs3.9 billion on dividends and securities Rs13 billion, technical fee Rs4.1 billion, contracts Rs55.4 billion, exports Rs10.7 billion and cash withdrawal Rs8.3 billion in the ongoing fiscal year.

From non-residents, who are operating ships, the FBR charged at the rate of 8 per cent withholding tax and collected Rs38.707 million in the3 first eight months of the current fiscal year.

The non-resident operating aircraft at the rate of 3 per cent withholding tax paid Rs37.920 million into the national kitty so far.

On imports stage, the imports at the rate of 0.5 per cent paid Rs1.630 million, at the rate of one per cent Rs963 million, at the rate of 2 per cent Rs11.795 billion, at rate of 3 per cent Rs101.14 million, at rate of 5 per cent Rs17.459 billion, imports at the rate of 6 per cent Rs635.551 million.

From salaries, federal government employees paid Rs18.837 billion in the first eight months of the current fiscal year. On salaries from government employees other than federal government, the tax collection in shape of WHT stood at Rs1.599 billion while salaries of others fetched Rs15.715 billion WHT in 8 months of 2009-10.

In shape of dividends, the FBR collected Rs1.082 billion at the rate of 5 per cent withholding tax, Rs456 million at the rate of 7.5 per cent, Rs2.432 billion at the rate of 10 per cent. In shape of profit on debt at the rate of 10 per cent, the FBR collected Rs1.716 billion WHT, profit on debt-bank deposits at the rate of 10 per cent yielded Rs9.886 billion, government securities at the rate of 10 per cent generated Rs657 million and other securities Rs749 million in July-Feb period of 2009-10.

On contracts, the sale of rice, cottonseed or edible oil at the rate of 1.5 per cent yielded Rs1.138 billion, sale of other goods at the rate of 3.5 per cent generated Rs15.445 billion, services at the rate of 6 per cent Rs9.416 billion, and other contracts at rate of 6 per cent provided a revenue of Rs29.449 billion in July-Feb period of 2009-10.