How To Become Filer In Pakistan | Complete Guide

The government of Pakistan has set the law of paying taxes. Every salaried person or business has obligations to follow the law, file their tax return, and pay tax annually. According to the FBR (Federal Board of Revenue), Pakistan is one of those countries in the world that has the lowest GDP (Gross Domestic Product). It shows the country’s development in a year.

The FBR has categorized the total population in two classes Filer and Non-filer. Filer is the person or business on the active list of Tax; in short, the regular taxpayer. In the other type, Non-filer is someone who is not on that list.

The current population of Pakistan is about 200 million in which we only have 1% of the population is in the list of the active filers. Many of our people are unaware of its importance and benefits. The amount of tax collected by individuals is used in various projects, salaries of government employees, etc. Due to which the Pakistani government is making every possible step to make citizens pay tax.

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 The government of Pakistan provides filers with many benefits to encourage their efforts and make the rest of the population take part and implement this law. Some of the encouraging benefits are listed below:

• Where non-filer contractors pay 15% as a tax, the filer has benefited from spending half of the amount, which is 7.5%.
• On withdrawing the amount of more than 50,000 non-filers has to pay 0.6% tax whereas, filers are allowed to pay only 0.3% tax. 
• In terms of vehicle's token, non-filers have to pay about 1200 to 30,000, whereas filers are paying 800 to 10,000 of the tax amount. 
• In terms of Prize Bond prize money, non-filer will get a deduction of 25% tax whereas, filers have to pay only 15% tax.
• Similarly, On buying property, active taxpayers have to pay 50% less tax amount as non-filer. 
• The government has restricted Non-filer from purchasing a property worth more than 50 lacs, whereas; filers have no restrictions.
• In terms of property transfer, tax filers are supposed to pay 1% of tax where Non-filers have to pay 2% of it. 
• If a filer has a business of Imports, he has to pay a 5.5% tax, whereas non-filer has to pay 8%.

These are some of the perks of being filer in Pakistan. Paying tax is one of Citizens’ obligations, which are getting ignored due to lack of awareness. 

The Pakistani government has started to register filers online without any hassle of the queue, waiting, and other things to make it easier. It is now on the ease of your fingertips and smartphones to become a filer. You will learn the procedure with step by step guide with us in this article, so stay tuned.

Get NTN from FBR to become a filer: 

NTN (National Text Number) is the unique number generated for the liable taxpayer. To become a filer, it is the first and necessary step to get your NTN number from FBR. You can also generate your NTN number while sitting at your couch with the ease of your smartphone.

How to know that you require an NTN number?

Suppose your income falls in the scale of taxable income, which is 6 lacs per year. You are supposed to pay a tax or become a filer and need to get your NTN to register yourself as a filer in FBR records.

What is the importance of holding NTN? 

Holding an NTN refers to that you are giving your income to the government, which stands you out as a patriotic individual or business.

It helps to build trust with investors for a business, as the one who is honest in his dealings will not ditch.  NTN holder businesses have the chance to get projects and contracts from the government. If an NTN holder got a general designation, he has strong support due to his NTN.

Documents required for NTN number: 

Well, to get your self registered for NTN number, you may need several documents, whether you are an individual or a business. Given below is the list of required documents. 

Required document for a salaried person: 

1. Copy of your CNIC (National Identity Card)  NOTE: it should be VALID.
2. Copy of paid electricity bill. NOTE: it should be recent, not older than 3 months. 
3. Contact info; Active E-mail, mobile number, landline.
4. Payslip.
5. NTN number of your employer, workplace address, workplace’s e-mail address (it should be VALID).

Required document for business: 

1. Copy of CNIC (National Identity Card).
2. RECENTLY paid the electricity bill for the business place.
3. Contact info; e-mail, mobile, or landline number.
4. Property papers.
5. Nature of business.

These are the required document you should have before registering yourself for NTN with FBR. Once you have got these documents, it’s just a matter of clicks, and your NTN will generate.

NTN registration from FBR: 

You have to follow the steps given below to generate your NTN and become a filer in Pakistan: 

Step #1:

To step forward, you have to open an IRIS Portal of  FBR (Federal Board of Revenue), where on the first page you will see different options, 1 of them is of REGISTRATION for unregistered.  

You can also get on that page through this link: https://iris.fbr.gov.pk/public/txplogin.xhtml.

Step # 2:

By clicking on the option of registration, you will see the appearance of the form asking you stuffs like; CNIC, address, E-mail, and contact info. You have to fill out the requested information. 

Step # 3:

After filling all the information, you must submit it from the submit button below or beside the form.

Step # 4:

As you submit the form, you will receive a six-digit code on your given email and/or phone number. 

Step # 5:

Take access to that code and fill it in the relevant column. As you fill the code, the process of account creation is complete here. In a while, you will receive an e-mail consisting of the username and password from the FBR for a created account.

Step # 6:

Using that username and password, you have to log in to your IRIS account, and by clicking on drafts, you will see an application named 181 application. Where you have to fill the relevant tabs according to your account as it is for salaried person’s account or of a business. 

Step # 7:

Fill out the requested information and attach all the documents as mentioned above.

Above mentioned steps are an easy guide to get NTN number from FBR. However, there is an offline way, but we are focusing on online methods to keep you away from hassles. 

Now it’s time to start your registration as a filer. 

Registration as a filer:

Once you have got your NTN number, you will go with the other process of registering yourself as a filer. 

By getting an NTN number and creating an IRIS account, you are done with registering in the FBR system. Now you have to follow simple steps to proceed with the process of becoming a filer. 

Step# 1:

You have to open your IRIS portal account again. 

Step # 2:

Click on e-enrolment for registered persons. 

Step # 3:

A form will appear to ask for some necessary information, such as CNIC, address, and contact info. 

Step # 4:

After filling out the form, you have to submit it by clicking the submit button. 

Step # 5:

As you submit your form, you will receive a code via SMS or E-mail. 

Step # 6:

Now for logging in, you have to enter CNIC number in the field of Registration number and given code in Password. 

Step # 7:

There, you will see the same draft file as before. And the same form. 

Step # 8:

Fill out all the requested information about the business tab, link tab, and personal tab. And attach all the documents as mentioned above, again. 

Step # 9: 

Re-check, all the information should be correct and valid. Otherwise, there would be issues in the future.

Step # 10: 

After submitting the form, you will get a confirmation e-mail. And congratulations! You are done with this process without any hassle and wasting your time. You are now a Filer of Pakistan.

How to check ATL Via SMS or IRIS Portal: 

You can now check your name on ATL. This list is upgraded every Monday by FBR. You can download the whole list from the FBR official website and find your name there. Or you can check ATL via SMS:

Checking ATL via SMS:

For checking your name through SMS, you have to follow the simple steps: 

• Open your mobile messaging app.
• Type ATL ( give space) 13 digit CNIC and send it to 9966.
• To check the ATL of business or company, you have to type ATL (give space) 7 digit NTN number and send it to 9966. 

It is the simple process of checking via SMS. You can also check via the Online portal and other ways. 

Checking ATL via Online portal: 

To check ATL through an online portal, you have to open a web page on your browser through a link below:

https://e.fbr.gov.pk/esbn/Service.aspx?PID=Dbue2kxCaiyqHHkwEvtwFA==

You will find fields like CNIC, Registration number, date. Fill in the given fields, enter NTN number in the field of the registration number and date. On entering ReCaptcha code and verifying it, you will see the ATL list on your screen.

Conclusion:

It is the complete step by step guide for becoming a filer. Paying tax is one of our responsibilities toward our country, and we should fulfill it as every other responsibility. Citizens are ignoring paying taxes; some lack the knowledge, and some don’t want to hassle around. It is a hassle-free way to register yourself as a filer. And become a proud Pakistani.