Islamabad: The federal government has formally introduced a cap on cash withdrawals for non-filers under the revised Finance Bill 2025–26, further tightening tax compliance measures for individuals outside the active taxpayer list.
According to the amended version of Section 114C of the Finance Bill, titled “Restriction on economic transactions by certain persons,” banking companies will not be allowed to process cash withdrawals above a specified threshold from the accounts of non-filers. The exact withdrawal limit will be outlined in the newly introduced Fifteenth Schedule, to be notified by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
The move is part of a broader framework to restrict high-value economic activity among non-filers. Other restrictions under the revised bill now apply only to transactions that meet defined value thresholds, significantly scaling back earlier proposals that had suggested a blanket ban. These include:
Purchase of residential property valued over Rs50 million
Purchase of commercial property valued over Rs100 million
Purchase of vehicles priced above Rs7 million
Annual stock market investments exceeding Rs50 million
Annual cash withdrawals from bank accounts exceeding Rs100 million
The updated provisions aim to strike a balance between enforcement and economic participation. Originally, the Finance Bill had proposed more sweeping restrictions—such as disallowing banks from opening or maintaining current, savings, or investor portfolio accounts for non-filers, except for Asaan and Pensioner Accounts. However, these have now been streamlined to focus on high-value transactions.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb stated that the revised Finance Bill reflects structural reforms intended to improve tax compliance while supporting long-term fiscal stability. The FBR projects that enforcement-related actions—such as these transaction limits—could contribute up to Rs389 billion in additional revenue in the next fiscal year.
Separately, the bill also introduced changes in pension-related taxation. Pension and annuity incomes classified as “income from other sources” will now be taxed at rates outlined in a new proviso under the relevant tax schedule. The revised Finance Bill is expected to take effect from July 1, 2025, upon presidential assent.
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