Doctors shut clinics in Pakistan over FBR tax row

Nationwide closure

The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) shut private hospitals and clinics across the country on September 30 to protest tax measures by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). Dawn reported on October 1 that private healthcare services remained suspended in major cities. Emergency rooms and intensive care units at public hospitals stayed open.

What doctors are demanding

The PMA rejects the mandatory Point of Sale (POS) system for private healthcare facilities and the reclassification of medical services as retail sales. It also objects to fines under Section 175C and what it calls aggressive raids on hospitals. PMA Secretary General Dr Abdul Ghafoor Shoro says private hospitals meet over 70 per cent of the country's healthcare needs and already pay income tax. Doctors say officials had earlier promised to withdraw the POS requirement.

FBR's position

The FBR argues that digital integration is essential to curb under-reporting of income and widen the tax base across service sectors. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a doctors' association also closed private clinics, demanding that the sales tax rate on medical services match other provinces.

Next step: Gujrat convention

The PMA will hold an All-Pakistan Doctors' Convention in Gujrat on October 11 to decide its next move. Leaders warn that an indefinite nationwide shutdown of healthcare services is possible if grievances remain unresolved. PMA Punjab President Dr Kamran Saeed Sheikh has urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to intervene immediately. The association says it held two meetings with the FBR chairman and one with the finance minister, where assurances were reportedly given.