The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has stepped up its tax enforcement drive, turning its attention to jewelers and real estate players — two sectors long seen as hotbeds of underreporting and tax evasion.
According to officials, jewelers in Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Faisalabad, and Multan have begun receiving notices seeking explanations about their tax records. The move follows weeks of internal data gathering, where the FBR compiled information on over 60,000 jewelers operating across Pakistan.
Shockingly, only about 21,000 were found registered with the tax authority, and less than half of those — just 10,524 — had filed returns.
Jewelers Under the Scanner
Sources say the gap between business volumes and reported income in the jewelry market is massive. Gold shops that display inventory worth millions often declare only a fraction of their real earnings.
“It’s no longer business as usual,” remarked one official, adding that the enforcement wing has prepared a priority list of 900 jewelers in Punjab alone, starting with major cities like Lahore, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, and Multan.
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In the first phase, notices are being sent to jewelers whose declared income does not align with their level of operations or lifestyle. Officials insist that the goal is not harassment but ensuring fairness in the system — especially at a time when Pakistan’s economy needs every rupee of revenue.
Real Estate Firm Raided
The crackdown is not limited to jewelers. In a parallel move, FBR teams raided a leading real estate company in Islamabad, seizing records to assess whether its income and property dealings have been properly documented. The real estate sector, like jewelry, has often been flagged for tax leakages due to unreported transactions and speculative trading.
Broader Tax Drive
FBR’s renewed aggression emerges right after the government encounters pressure to expand the tax net and reduce reliance on indirect taxes. By targeting high-value sectors like jewelry and real estate, officials hope to send a clear signal: those who continue to evade will be held accountable.
If this achieves success, the campaign will become a turning point, shifting more of Pakistan’s vast undocumented economy into the formal tax system.