The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has halted the blocking of mobile phone SIMs of non-filers who did not file their income tax returns for tax year 2023, according to a report by Dawn.com.
The blocking was initiated last week after the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) held a meeting with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and telecom companies over their reservations to proceed with the measure.
The tax authority had issued on April 30 a list of about 506, 671 non-filers and ordered the PTA and telecom firms to block their SIMs as penalty.
The PTA and telecom companies initially opposed the move citing various reasons, including its adverse impacts on access to healthcare, education, and other essential online services. However, following the meeting with the FBR, they agreed to implement the directives, initiating the blocking of SIMs in batches of 5,000.
In a latest development, the IHC has issued an injunction against the blocking. The order arrived on Tuesday as a result of a petition filed against the move by Zong, one of the leading telecom service providers in Pakistan.
The company’s counsel argued that the constitutional amendment made to impose such a measure violated the right of freedom of business as enshrined in Article 18. He informed the court that there would be a loss of Rs1 billion a year if 500,000 SIMs were blocked.
The IHC, issuing the injunction against the move, has directed respondents to file their responses by May 27.
More on the FBR’s directives to block SIMs of non-filers here – Telecom companies to block SIMs of non-filers, says tax regulator
