During a meeting at the Ministry of Finance, telecom companies reassured Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb of their commitment to block 5,000 SIMs belonging to non-filers of income tax returns every day.
In collaboration with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), telecom companies have agreed to implement the blockage of 5,000 SIMs daily, as specified in Income Tax General Order No. 1 of 2024.
Following the agreement, telecom operators have initiated the process of blocking SIMs in accordance with FBR’s Income Tax General Order (ITGO). Additionally, the FBR has sent notifications to 5,000 individuals, informing them of the impending SIM blockage if they fail to file their tax returns.
To streamline the process, the FBR has started sending batches of 5,000 non-filers to telecom companies, who will gradually block the SIMs manually until their systems are fully automated. Subsequent batches will be sent to telcos on a daily basis.
Furthermore, telecom operators have begun notifying non-filers about the impending SIM blockage through messages for awareness purposes.
