The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has issued conflicting clarifications on whether flour mills are required to be registered and file tax returns to avail the benefit of SRO 509(1)/2013 read with SRO 1222(1)/2021. This has led to confusion for the court and the industry.
The High Court of Lahore has upheld the levy of extra tax and further tax on flour mills, while the High Court of Balochistan has held that the provisions of SRO 1222(1)/2021 are not applicable to flour mills that are exempt from sales tax under section 13 of the Sales Tax Act, 1990, irrespective of whether they are registered or not.
In view of the conflicting judgments, the Chief Commissioner of Regional Tax Office Quetta has requested the FBR to issue guidelines on the issue. The Pakistan Flour Mills Association (Balochistan circle) has also approached the FBR for redressal of grievances.
The FBR is considering the issue and may issue guidelines in due course.
