No income tax fair this year either

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) will not arrange the income tax fair this year either, making it the fourth consecutive year since 2020 that the fair will not be held.

However, one-stop or special services will be provided to taxpayers throughout the month of November in all tax zones of the country, according to the NBR.

"Although there is no income tax fair this year, the NBR will strengthen its one-stop services for taxpayers from November 1 to 30," said Sayed A Momen, director (information) of NBR.

There will be arrangements for providing e-TIN registration and re-registration services at booths in tax zones, he said.

The idea behind holding a tax fair was to motivate people to pay taxes and increase the country's tax-GDP ratio, one of the lowest globally.

The initiative created a lot of enthusiasm among taxpayers looking to furnish returns at the fair.

The NBR introduced the fair in 2010 and usually organised it in November.

Although there is no income tax fair this year, the NBR will strengthen its one-stop services for taxpayers from November 1 to 30

But no tax fairs have been organised since 2020, when it was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite the end of the pandemic, the authorities did not reverse their decision.

The number of new e-TIN holders increased by five lakh this year, bringing the total number of e-TIN holders in the country to 95 lakh.

Although the number of e-TIN holders increased across the country, the number of people who submit income tax returns has not increased along the same ratio.

Out of 90 lakh e-TIN holders in the nation last year, around 36 lakh submitted income tax returns, according to
the NBR.