Event organizers will bear 10% withholding tax levied on wedding halls.

KARACHI: In another blow to already burdened citizens, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has imposed a 10 percent withholding tax on wedding halls, which will be borne by event organizers.

In a statement issued on Friday, Marriage Hall Association president Rana Rais said that apart from the hall rental charges, the tax will be collected from the party conducting the ceremony.

He clarified that marriage hall owners “have nothing to do with withholding tax”.

The president of the association added that the decision was taken following FBR’s directives to streamline tax collection in the sector.

The tax collection agency faced a massive revenue shortfall in achieving the set target of Rs 1,003 billion, as the total collection so far for November 2024 is around Rs 855 billion, showing a gap of Rs 149 billion. does

The FBR had made internal estimates that it might face a shortfall of Rs 321 billion in the first half (July-December) period, but the shortfall has already exceeded that and stood at Rs 338 billion in five months. reached

FBR collected Rs 4.3 trillion in five months of FY 2024-25. Now, it has to earn Rs 1.71 trillion this month to meet the indicative target of Rs 6.009 trillion by December 31, 2024 under the IMF programme.