Islamabad, April 17, 2025: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has introduced fresh and more stringent guidelines for the suspension of sales tax registration under new Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) 608(I)/2025, issued on Thursday. This move is aimed at curbing tax evasion, fraudulent invoicing, and misuse of the sales tax regime by non-compliant businesses. According to the FBR, the new rules empower the Commissioner of Inland Revenue to suspend the sales tax registration of a registered person through the electronic system, without prior notice, if there is credible evidence or suspicion of wrongdoing. The suspension will remain in effect pending the outcome of a detailed inquiry. The FBR outlined several key triggers that may lead to such suspension. These include the non-availability of a registered person at the declared business address, refusal to provide access to premises under Sections 40B and 40C, or failure to furnish required records under Sections 25 and 37 of the Sales Tax Act, 1990. Additionally, any suspicious business activity where the scale of operations exceeds five times the sum of declared…