‘Afghan expatriates doing business without FBR registration’

ISLAMABAD: Minister for States and Frontier Regions Lt. Gen (retd) Abdul Qadir Baloch on Monday stated that the people of Afghan origin were running their businesses in the country without Federal Board of Revenue (FBR)’s registration or any other entity at provincial level.

He pointed out that according to a survey, conducted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) during 2010-2011 about the Afghan Population Profiling, Verification and Response (PPVR) and their economic activities in the country, 44,076 Aghan nationals had invested considerable amounts of money in their business over the years.

The minister said that 38.7 percent enterprise owners paid taxes worth of Rs707.33 million per annum in mode of 9.2 percent direct tax and others General Sales Tax (GST) on Consumer items, Federal Excise Duties (FED) on utilities, Withholding Income Tax (WIT) on cellular phone usage, Toll Tax (TT) on traveling through highways and other networks of communications. Dr. Azra Fazal Pehchuho put forward the suggestion to make a mechanism for bringing Afghan businessmen under tax network through proper channel.