The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has released the comprehensive income tax return form for traders for the tax year 2025, after repeated promises of a simpler format. The five-page form seeks detailed information on business activities, turnover, capital assets, and personal expenditures.
Traders expressed concerns over the absence of the Urdu version of the form, which had been promised earlier. They also noted that the electronic form is complex and cannot be filled without hiring tax consultants, making the filing process cumbersome.
The return requires traders to report cost of sales, gross and net profits, taxable income, taxes already paid, and total value of capital assets under Section 7E of the Income Tax Ordinance. A separate page is included for personal expenses.
Under the previous scheme, tax for filer traders under Sections 236G and 236H was reduced to 0.1 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively, and monthly advance tax was adjustable. The earlier return allowed automatic calculation of tax liability and direct bank refunds.
Since the launch of the Tajir Dost Scheme, the FBR had registered over 58,000 small traders and new shopkeepers by September 2024, against a target of 3.2 million. The board had projected Rs 50 billion in revenue under this head for 2024-25.
