LAHORE - The business community, rejecting the widely-opposed and controversial SRO 98(I)/2013, has asked the FBR to utilise its own tax machinery to collect tax instead of making manufacturers or exporters as its sales tax withholding agents. They said that Federal Board of Revenue has started issuing audit notices, despite LHC orders to initiate audit process afresh. He said the board in its letter dated January 17, 2013 directed all chief commissioners of Inland Revenue to conduct audit as per section 177, 25 and 46 of Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, Sales Tax Act 1990 and Federal Excise Act 2005, in violation of court orders.  The FBR has collected Rs.1027b in first six months of the current fiscal year and now it has to collect Rs.1163 billion to achieve target of Rs.2190 billion in second half of the fiscal, observed APAT general secretary Naeem Mir. He said that shifting of responsibility on exporters for collection of taxes and work as withholding agent for income tax, sales tax and FED means incurring of extra cost because all this needs dedicated staff and other resources.
He stressed the need for bringing all untaxed sectors into tax net including agriculture sector, besides imposing sales tax on zero-rated sectors. 
He said that we are unable to understand that why and at whose behest the FBR was implementing this widely opposed and controversial SRO.