ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Rashid Mahmood Langrial Wednesday said tax has been imposed on digital platforms after serious concerns of formal retail sector paying sales tax as well as income tax on sales of goods. During post-budget press conference held on Wednesday, the FBR chairman clarified that 2.5 per cent tax would be applicable on income slab between Rs600,000 and Rs1.2 million under revised salary slabs. The tax rate of one per cent has been mentioned in the Finance Bill 2025-26. Taxing the digital frontier: Pakistan’s bold move to tap e-commerce and online revenues Over Rs100 billion worth digital invoicing sales have been reported to the FBR. Sales through digital invoicing needs strong deterrence under self-assessment scheme. The integration of sales tax registered persons has been started through authorised integrators including Pakistan Revenue Automation Limited (PRAL). The FBR chairman stated that the country is moving towards digital economy. Formal retail sector is paying all kinds of taxes as compared to undocumented online companies engaged in selling of goods and paying no taxes. All Pakistan Retail Association has complaint to the FBR that the market of the documented sector has been at the verge of collapse due to informal sector. They are at a disadvantage of paying 18 per cent sales tax as compared to informal sector. The level playing field has been restored through the Finance Bill. Two percent tax of gross value of supplies would be applicable on persons supplying digitally ordered goods from within Pakistan through online market place, website and software applications. The FBR chairman stated that the board has included all taxable activities to incorporate digitally ordered taxable goods into the e-commerce sales tax framework. Presently, online marketplaces are required to withhold one percent sales tax on local supplies made by non-active taxpayer vendors. However, this does not fully capture the growing e-commerce sector, especially businesses using websites, apps, etc, for online sales to consumers. To address this, the withholding tax scope has been expanded to cover transactions settled via online…