The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is actively blocking SIMs of non-filers across the country.
So far, the FBR has blocked 210,000 mobile SIMs of non-filers, while 61,996 SIMs have been restored after-tax returns were filed, according to sources.
Telecom companies receive data of 5,000 mobile SIMs daily from the FBR. In total, 506,671 non-filers SIMs are set to be blocked.
Recently, the FBR issued an Income Tax General Order to block the mobile SIMs of more than 606,000 individuals. The FBR stated that these individuals have taxable incomes but are not filing their income tax returns.
These non-filers are not on the FBR’s Active Taxpayer List, so their mobile connections can be disconnected anytime.
FBR spokesperson Bakhtiar Ahmed clarified that only around 2.5 million individuals out of 250 million are considered non-filers.
