To increase tax compliance and build the capacity of government departments in tax collection and withholding, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Revenue Authority (KPRA) held a workshop for the officials of government departments of district Swat.
The workshop was arranged by KPRA Mardan and Malakand region with the financial assistance of USAID-funded Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Revenue Mobilization Activity Swat Serena. The participants were including officials of District Administration, Universities, Educational Boards, Local Government, Water, and Sanitation Services Mardan, and District Accounts.
Director General KPRA Capt. (Retd.) Shahbaz Tahir Nadeem in his address shed light on the role of the withholding agents in the administration and collection of sales tax. He told the participants that withholding is not a tax, it is a mechanism, and being government officers it is their responsibility under the law to withhold tax from the service providers. “Our job is to facilitate you. Our Mardan and Malakand region is available for your support and assistance,” he said. He also shed light on the importance of sales tax on services for the development of the country and the province.
KPRA Additional Collector Mardan and Malakand Musarrat Zaman in their opening remarks thanked the participants for attending the workshop and USAID-KPRM for financially assisting KPRA in conducting the workshop.
“KPRA is working on the education and training of its taxpayers and withholding agents. The aim of the workshop is to build the capacity of government departments’ officers to efficiently withhold sales tax on services for KPRA and address issues they are facing within withholding tax from the service providers,” he said. Deputy Collector Mardan and Malakand Abdul Wahab briefed the participants on the KP Sales Tax on Services Withholding Regulations 2020 and explained the whole process of how to calculate, and withhold sales tax from the service providers, and how to submit their sales tax returns.
“One the aims of the workshop was to educate withholding agents on the difference between the sales tax on goods which is administered by the Federal Board of Revenue and sales tax on services which is administered by KPRA,” he said adding that as per law it is the responsibility of withholding agents to properly calculate, withhold, submit sales tax on services for KPRA.
Assistant Collector KPRA Afaq Ali educated the participants on the taxable services that fall in the ambit of sales tax on services and the rates of the tax on different services and answered their queries.
The participants of the training workshop thanked USAID-KPRM and KPRA for providing them the opportunity to learn and assured them that they will try their best to ensure tax compliance and play their part in the progress and development of the country. They said that such activities should be arranged by KPRA more frequently so that they can learn from the experts of KPRA and can master their skills in withholding taxes for KPRA.
