The government has already imposed the new tax on traders after the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) had issued a notification in this respect.

According to the notification, the scheme is applicable to small traders, shopkeepers, wholesalers, retailers, manufacturers-cum-retailers and importer-cum-retailers. Advance income tax will be collected on 15th of every month after July 15.

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Following the implementation of the IMF conditions by the government, the traders will pay a tax of Rs100 to Rs20,000 on a monthly basis. So far, over 150,000 traders have been registered across the country.

According to the notification, the tax will be determined based on the rent and market value of the shops, the fair market value will be determined by the FBR itself. Traders in Sialkot, Multan, Abbottabad, Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur, Chakwal, Dera Ismail Khan, Faisalabad, Ghotki, Gujarat, Gwadar, Hafizabad, Haripur, Hyderabad, Jhang and Jhelum will be brought into the tax net. Under this scheme, traders will also be registered in Kasur, Khushab, Lahore, Larkana, Sukkur, Lasbela, Lodhran, Mandi Bahauddin, Toba Tek Singh, Mansehra, Mardan, Mirpurkhas, Multan, Nankana, Narowal, Rahim Yar Khan, Sahiwal, Sargodha and Sheikhupura.

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Eatlier, the scheme was limited to only six major cities: Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta. On the demand of the IMF, the government had launched the scheme from April 1 last financial year with the aim of bringing more than 3 million retailers into the tax net. In the first two months of the scheme, only a few hundred traders got themselves registered. In the current financial year, the FBR has increased its powers, under which the businesses of unregistered retailers can be sealed and heavy fines can be imposed.