KPMG Taseer Hadi & Co. Chartered Accountants Amendments in federal taxation laws through Finance Act, 2021 July 2021 — home.kpmg/pk Preamble The National Assembly approved the Finance Bill 2021 with certain amendments proposed therein and after the assent of the President of Pakistan, Finance Act, 2021 has been enacted on 30 June 2021. This publication contains a review of changes made in Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, Sales Tax Act, 1990, Federal Excise Act, 2005 and The Customs Act, 1969 through the Finance Act, 2021. This document contains the comments, which represent our interpretation of the legislation. We recommend that while considering their application to any particular case reference be made to the specific wordings of the relevant statute. This publication is also available on our website. home.kpmg/pk 14 July 2021 © 2021 KPMG Taseer Hadi & Co., a Partnership firm registered in Pakistan and a member firm of the KPMG global organization of independent kpmg member firms affiliated with KPMG International Limited, a private English company limited by guarantee. All rights reserved. Contents Page # Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 01 Tax rate card 48 Withholding tax rate table 52 Sales Tax Act, 1990 69 Federal Excise Act, 2005 81 The Customs Act, 1969 84 © 2021 KPMG Taseer Hadi & Co., a Partnership firm registered in Pakistan and a member firm of the KPMG global organization of independent kpmg member firms affiliated with KPMG International Limited, a private English company limited by guarantee. All rights reserved. Finance Act 2021 | 1 Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 ‘Business Bank Account’ defined with penalty Scope of IT Services and IT enabled services - and prosecutions provisions for non-declaration enhanced The Act has inserted a new definition of “business The Act has inserted the definition of information bank account” to mean a bank account utilized by technology [IT] Services and IT enabled services in the taxpayer for business transaction declared to section 2 for the purpose of the entire ordinance. the Commissioner through original or modified The insertion is made as a result of substitution of registration form prescribed under section 181. clause (133) of Part 1 of the Second Schedule vide Tax Laws (Second Amendment) Ordinance, 2021 The form under section 181 is available on IRIS into section 65F for claiming tax credit instead of wherein the taxpayer is required to declare bank exemption of income. account which would be treated as business bank account. The Act has enhanced the scope of definition of IT enabled services to include cloud computing Declaring the business bank account has been services and data storage services as well. mandated under section 114A. Penalty and prosecution provisions on non-declaration of bank Concept and taxation of small and medium account have been prescribed. The related changes enterprise introduced are discussed later in comments related to penalty and prosecution. The Act has introduced a new concept of small and medium enterprise separate from ‘small company’. Scope of ‘Industrial Undertaking’ enhanced Small and medium enterprise means a person who is engaged in manufacturing as defined in clause The Act has extended the definition of ‘industrial (iv) of sub-section (7) of section 153 of the undertaking’ by including telecommunication Ordinance and his business turnover in a tax year companies operating under license of Pakistan does not exceed two hundred and fifty million Telecommunication Authority (PTA) in its ambit. rupees. This has been a matter of dispute and the courts Provided that if annual business turnover exceeds have in certain cases held that telecommunication two hundred and fifty million rupees, it shall not systems used by the companies engaged in qualify as small and medium enterprise in the tax providing telecommunication services are covered year in which annual turnover exceeds that under the definition of an “industrial undertaking”. turnover or any subsequent tax year. This amendment shall entitle telecommunication Accordingly, the definition of small company is also sector for not to be treated as services and also for proposed to be amended to exclude the small and the following: medium enterprise. Meaning thereby if the enterprise qualifies as small and medium — Claiming tax deducted at source on sales of enterprise, then it cannot be treated as small goods as adjustable; company. — Claiming tax collected at import stage as Separate taxation regime has also been introduced adjustable; and for small and medium enterprise under section — Claiming tax credit under section 65E. 100E read with Fourteenth Schedule the details of which are discussed later. 2 | Finance Act 2021 Threshold reduced and fixed tax rate introduced The Act has restored the original scheme for for “profit on debt” Individuals and AOPs to be taxed on net income basis as income from property across the board The profit on debt received by a person other than thereby allowing deductions as specified in section a company upto Rs. 36 million is taxable under Final 15A. Tax Regime at applicable slab rates. The net income will now be taxed at the slab rates The Act has reduced the threshold from Rs. 36 applicable as per income of the individual and AOP million to Rs. 5 million and rate of tax to be fixed at under Division – I of part 1 of the First Schedule. 15% instead of current progressive slabs of 15%, 17.5% and 20%. Explanation introduced under “income from business” Hence the persons who are excluded from taxation under this section by virtue of the proposed Income derived by any trade, professional or similar amendment will be subject to tax at slab rates association from the sale of goods or provision of under Division I. services to its members is classified as ‘income from business’. Explanation introduced under “salary” The Act has inserted explanation to clarify that The Act has inserted explanation for the term the income derived by co-operative societies from sale “allowance solely in the performance of of goods, immovable property or provision of employee’s duty” as provided in section 12(2)(c) services to its member is and has always been not to include: chargeable to tax under the provisions of the Ordinance. — Allowance paid in monthly salary on fixed basis or percentage of salary; or This amendment appears to nullify the effect of ‘doctrine of mutuality’ as enunciated and upheld by — Allowance, which is not wholly, exclusively the courts in various pronouncements holding that necessarily or actually spent on behalf of the one cannot earn income from oneself. employer. This amendment as explanation is hence intended This explanation will make this amendment to give retrospective effect which may give rise to applicable retrospectively, however, since this is litigations. likely to increase the tax burden of the employees, hence, being substantive in nature, will give rise to Tax depreciation disputes. Currently, for the taxation of immoveable property Deductions allowed from Income from property the depreciation claimed over the life of property is for individual and AOP recouped on its disposal hence resulting in taxation to the extent of depreciation claimed as business Income from property was historically taxed on net income. income basis for all taxpayers. The Finance Act 2016 brought amendment in this regime by taxing The Bill proposed to change this taxation regime in Individual and AOPs on gross receipts and only following manner: allowing companies to claim deduction for specified expenses. — Calculation of the gain on disposal as excess of consideration over the cost of asset; Vide amendments in later tax year, Individual and AOP were entitled in prescribed manner to opt for — Taxation of the gain under Section 37 as capital taxation on net income basis. gain. Though not mentioned, this should be Finance Act 2021 | 3 taxed under section 37(1A) in accordance with The Bill proposed to provide for taxability of gain on the holding period specified therein. disposal of immovable property where such gain exceeds Rs. 5 million as normal capital gain subject It was pointed out that structural improvements are to tax under applicable tax rates provided under covered in depreciable assets under section 22(15) normal slab rates or corporate tax rates with the and accordingly excluded from capital assets under benefit of holding period still to be taken into section 37(5)(b). In absence of amendment in these account while computing the taxable capital gain. fundamental provisions, the proposed amendment to tax this gain as capital gain would be anomalous Amendment was proposed to tax this gain at 5% and unharmonized. instead of existing slab rates varying from 2.5% to 10%. Considering the above, the proposed amendment has not been enacted. This proposed amendment has not been enacted. First year allowance for installing plant, The current progressive slab rates varying from machinery and equipment by specified 2.5% to 10% have been revised. The applicable industrial undertakings withdrawn rates now vary from 3.5% to 15%. The Tax Laws (Second Amendment) Ordinance Disposal of immoveable property as business 2021 had omitted first year allowance (available at income 90% of the cost of an asset) under section 23A of the Ordinance which allowed a deduction in lieu of The Bill also proposed to insert explanation in sub- first year allowance for installation of plant, section (1A) of section 37 that where a person machinery and equipment by industrial purchases and sells immovable property in the undertakings set up in specified rural and under ordinary course of business, such gain shall be developed areas or engaged in manufacturing of taxable as business income and not as capital gain. cellular mobile phones and qualifying for exemption under clause (126N) of Part I of the Second This proposed amendment has not been enacted. Schedule to the Ordinance.