The first quarter or Q1 (July to September) of FY23 saw a significant rise in individual tax returns, with a growth rate of 330% year-on-year (YoY), according to the National Board of Revenue (NBR.)
The first quarter of FY23, or the last three months, saw the filing of 330,000 individual taxpayer tax returns by tax offices nationwide, according to the most recent NBR statistics.
The same period of FY22 witnessed around 100,000 tax returns, according to NBR data.
Experts say that the mandatory law to submit tax returns for various services is the reason behind such a sudden growth in Q1 of FY23.
Not only the individual tax returns but also the number of taxpayer identification number (TIN) holders increased during this time.
The number of TIN holders reached 7.6 million which was 2.4 million at the same time last year.
Requesting anonymity, an NBR official said: “The number of tax returns may jump another 4 million this fiscal year.”
According to the official, NBR expects record tax returns this year as the new fiscal measure has made submission of proofs of returns mandatory for availing 38 types of services from public and private entities.
In the current fiscal budget, the government made verification of tax return slips mandatory for service-providing entities.
Until the previous fiscal, people used to obtain TIN once to show it for availing services but from now on, tax return slips have to be obtained every year.
Last year, the NBR introduced an online tax return submission module for individual taxpayers.
However, the system is suitable only for marginal taxpayers having no refund claims.
The time for submission of tax returns by individuals started on July 1 and will expire on November 30.
