The telecommunication sector in Pakistan has reached an agreement with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to block the mobile phone Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs) of over half a million individuals who have failed to file their tax returns.

However, the companies have requested a period of one to 1.5 weeks to carry out this task effectively.

The decision came after FBR Chairman Malik Amjed Zubair Tiwana held a series of meetings with telecom company officials and representatives from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) over three days.

The primary focus of these meetings was the implementation of the Income Tax General Order (ITGO) issued by the FBR, which called for disabling the SIMs of 506,671 non-filers for the year 2023 in the meeting.

The telecom companies expressed their opposition to the SIM-blocking measure, pointing out that although the law to block SIMs of non-filers had been in place for two years, it had not been strictly enforced thus far.

They argued that implementing the measure abruptly after two years was unfair.

Furthermore, they highlighted that the FBR possessed the authority to disconnect power and gas supplies to non-filers under the same law, suggesting that this provision should be enforced as well.

The FBR clarified that it was within the government’s discretion to determine how and when to exercise its powers, emphasizing that it was not mandatory to simultaneously implement all powers conferred by the law.

The FBR also noted that blocking SIMs of non-filers was essential for documenting the country’s economy, even if it resulted in a temporary loss of revenue for both the telecom companies and the FBR.

The telecom companies proposed that a smaller number of SIMs, ranging from 20,000 to 25,000, should be initially blocked.

They also suggested that non-filers with multiple SIMs could have their SIMs frozen one by one.

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FBR officials explained to the telecom companies that a formal law enacted by the parliament mandated the blocking of mobile phone SIMs of non-filers.

They emphasized that it was necessary to implement the law, warning of strict action against those who violated it.

During subsequent meetings, the telecom companies expressed their willingness to comply with the decision to block SIMs of non-filers and requested time from the FBR to prepare proposals based on workable solutions.