The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has been given fresh authority to fix retail prices of goods as part of the Finance Act, 2025 — a move aimed at tightening control over tax evasion in Pakistan’s markets. According to Muhammad Zeeshan Merchant, former president of the Karachi Tax Bar Association (KTBA), key amendments have been introduced to redefine how retail prices are regulated. One major change includes placing a cap on deductions like chilling, storage, and handling charges, especially in the beverage industry. Now, businesses can only reduce retail prices by up to 5% for such costs, preventing artificial price reductions that lead to tax shortfalls. Most significantly, the FBR is now empowered to directly fix retail prices of goods where there is suspicion of market manipulation or tax evasion. This means if certain manufacturers or retailers are caught underreporting product prices to avoid taxes, the…