Govt Seeks Dismissal of IHC’s Order Restraining it from Blocking Mobile SIMs of Non-Filers

The federal government on Friday approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to get the stay order on blocking of mobile phone SIMs dismissed. Attorney General of Pakistan Mansoor Awan appeared before the IHC on the government’s miscellaneous plea against the petition of a private mobile company. IHC Chief Justice Aamir Farooq clarified that the court’s previous order only barred the government from action against the private telecom company and did not suspend the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) Income Tax General Order to block mobile phone SIMs of non-filers. The chief justice said that the previous order was not reported accurately by the media. Subsequently, on the request of the attorney general, the IHC issued notice on the government’s miscellaneous petition seeking a reply on May 22. The tax regulator first issued an Income Tax General Order (IGTO) on April 29, 2024, to block SIMs of non-filers by May 15. After initial reluctance, telecom operators last week agreed with FBR to initiate the nationwide blocking process of SIMs of non-filers. They agreed to manually block SIMs in small batches until their systems are fully automated. Later, telecom companies also assured Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb that they would block 5,000 SIMs of non-filers of income tax returns every day. The Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) has opposed the FBR general order, warning that such a move would hinder the country’s digitalization efforts, discourage foreign investment, and disrupt essential services such as banking, e-commerce, remittances, financial assistance, and e-health services. GSMA stated that instead of penalties, alternative solutions should be adopted to increase tax revenue.