The Islamabad High Court has sought a response from the government by May 22 on the government’s petition against blocking the mobile phone SIMs of non-filers.

IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq took up the plea, urging the court to dispose of the injunction order on the government’s decision to block SIMs.

When the judge asked Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Awan whether labourers would be included in it, he replied in affirmative and added that they would not be issued notice.

At one point, IHC judge Justice Farooq remarked that the court has not barred the government from blocking the SIM, but only stopped it from taking action against a private company.

The federal government’s decision to block SIMs of non-filers drew concerns from the Global System for Mobile Communications Association.

Earlier this month, the Federal Board of Revenue decided all telecom operators to block SIMs of non-filers by May 15, 2024.

Last month, the FBR ordered the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority and telecom operators to block 506,671 mobile phone SIMs of non-filers.

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Telecommunication operators have agreed to block the SIM cards manually in small batches, according sources. Instead of imposing penalties on more than 570,000 tax evaders, the FBR has decided to levy an additional withholding tax of 90% on them.

An additional withholding tax of 90% will be imposed on tax evaders until they submit income tax returns, they added. If a tax evader reloads a balance of Rs100, Rs90 rupees will be deducted by the FBR, they explained.