The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has objected to the plan of blocking SIM cards owned by over 500,000 individuals who haven’t filed their taxes. In a letter sent to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), the PTA explained that their system doesn’t support such a move. They pointed out that many SIM cards are registered under men’s names but are actually used by women. They also mentioned that there are no restrictions on issuing new SIM cards to those who haven’t filed taxes.
Furthermore, the PTA raised concerns about the process of unblocking SIM cards for people who start complying with tax laws. They clarified that they aren’t legally obligated to block SIM cards and that doing so could harm digitalization and the telecom industry.
Instead of blocking SIM cards, the PTA suggested that the FBR should consider other options within the boundaries of the law. This response from the PTA came after the FBR issued a general order on April 30 instructing the blocking of SIM cards belonging to over 506,000 non-compliant taxpayers across Pakistan.
