Daily Times

The businessmen, while highlighting the FBR’s Tajir Dost Scheme shortcomings, have emphasized the need for a comprehensive consultation and a sustainable roadmap for fostering stakeholders’ confidence and grassroots awareness via campaigns across every market in each major city.

The business community has sparked a diverse reaction to the Federal Board of Revenue’s recently launched the Tajir Dost Scheme, aiming to register traders, wholesalers, and small retailers in tax compliance. The FBR champions the DTS as a progressive step towards enhancing tax registration and revenue generation; dissenting voices, particularly from business people, have raised sincere concerns regarding the scheme’s efficacy and implementation.

In a joint statement, the Chairman of the Chainstore Association of Pakistan (CAP), Rana Tariq Mehboob, and Co-founder CAP Asfandyar Farrukh have raised concerns regarding the scheme’s efficacy and implementation. The official trade body represents tax-paying Tier-1 retail enterprises, that contribute 90% of taxes from the retail sector but have been denied a level-playing field for the past 5 years.

Rana and Farrukh highlighted the scheme’s shortcomings, emphasizing a need for comprehensive consultation and a sustainable roadmap for fostering stakeholder confidence and grassroots awareness via campaigns across every market in each major city. Amid the prevailing challenges, the ambitious plan to reportedly generate an additional Rs. 300-400 million in annual taxes is poised to crash and burn. Unfortunately, the government has not bothered to take the sector’s real stakeholders on board and imposes flawed policies that serve the purposes of none.