Bill had already been approved by Standing Committee on Excise and Taxation of Punjab Assembly
LAHORE: (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-April 21st, 2025) Punjab Finance (Amendment) Bill 2025 is due to be tabled in the provincial assembly for approval on Monday (today) in a bid to tighten its grip on salaried tax evaders.
The bill had already been approved by the Standing Committee on Excise and Taxation of the Punjab Assembly.
The bill is expected to be passed either by a majority vote or unanimous consent in the assembly. Once approved, it will be sent to the Governor of Punjab for final assent.
Through the Punjab Finance (Amendment) Bill 2025, the amendments would be made to the Punjab Finance Act, 1977.
Once enacted, the changes would be known under the new title. The Punjab government introduced a significant revision related to employee tax deductions.
The text of the bill said the accounts officer of every public or private organization will be legally responsible for deducting tax from salaries and depositing the amount into the treasury.
In case of negligence, the officer would be liable to pay the tax personally. The tax evasion has often occurred due to companies not submitting complete details of their employees’ salaries.
Many individuals who filed their own taxes underreported their incomes.
The committee observed that there was previously no clear provision obligating companies to deduct tax at source.
The new amendments aim to make tax collection more effective. In cases of non-compliance, the Excise Department will take immediate action.
The Standing Committee also stated that letters would be issued to companies that fail to deduct tax from employees’ salaries following the implementation of the amendments.
As per the bill, the Excise and Taxation Department would issue recovery orders against the violators. The Primary objective of the bill is to curb tax evasion and increase revenue for the public treasury. The bill had earlier been referred to the relevant committee of the Punjab Assembly.
