LAHORE: The Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) has identified as many as 50 aesthetic clinics in Lahore, allegedly earning billions of rupees annually, but paying no tax to the government.

One of the clinics being run by a foreigner earned up to Rs1.8 billion alone in one year, Dawn has learnt.

`These aesthetic clinics have never been on the radar of the tax collectors.

But we succeeded in identifying them during an ongoing survey to bring 11 more sectors into the tax net. During the survey, such clinics have been identified for the first time, enabling us to unearth their annual sales in billions on which no tax was paid in the past,` PAR ChairmanMoazzam Iqbal Sipra told Dawn on Sunday.

`One of the aesthetic clinics (offering various modern interventions to improve physical appearances-skin, body care etc) has been detected to have a record sale of Rs1.8 billion in just one year,` he maintained, claiming that the PRA`s tax collection efforts will bear more fruit soon.

Established in 2012, the PRA`s core objectives, according to PRA Act-2012, include reforming and modernising the taxation system, providing assistance to tax payers, promoting compliance with fiscal laws and establishing a progressive and professionally efficient tax management organisation.

Though the authority`s network was to be expanded to all districts, the govern-ment couldn`t expand it due to various issues. However, the government recently again started work on its expansion, besides bringing more sectors into the tax net.

`The survey of 11 new sectors is underway at the moment. These sectors include property developers, private construction, aesthetic clinics, beauty parlors, car dealers, property dealers, event management companies, warehouses (cold storage etc) and fashion designers,` Mr Sipra said, adding that the survey would take almost a month to complete after which the PRA would start taxing the aforementioned sectors.

He said geo-tagging of as many as 20,000 new marriage halls, hotels, restaurants and caterers had been completed in Punjab and soon they all wouldstart receiving tax notices. The number of the existing marriage halls, hotels, restaurants and caterers registered with PRA since 2012, is 9,000 or so.

According to him, the PRA had initially its network in eight major districts, including Lahore. Later, it was expanded to 16 districts. However, on the chief minister`s instructions, the efforts have been expedited to expand the authority to all 36 districts in Punjab.

`At the moment, we are searching for buildings to set up new offices in the remaining 20 districts. Hopefully, in next 15-20 days, we will be able to set up new offices,` he maintained.

To a question, the PRA chief said that previously, the authority had no internal audit system, as this important subject was being dealt by the enforcement officers based at its headquarters. Besides, vigilance, IT and other wings are also being planned to ensure systembased audit with data analysis.

He said the PRA only had 60 enforcement officers and now 200 more officers are being recruited through public service commission. `In Sindh, the revenue authority has 400 enforcement officers at the moment,` he said, adding that recruitment of 200 more enforcement officers in Punjab is a need of the hour.

To another question, the chairman said a new user-friendly system is being launched soon through which the businesses will be registered online. Through this, the people paying tax on services will also be able to check whether or not the businesses, to whom they paid tax, have deposited it with the government treasury. `And if it is proved that their tax has not been deposited to the government (PRA), an automated complaint would be initiated, leading to closure of the businesses failing to pay tax to the government,` he said, adding that relevant laws, rules and regulations are also being amended to punish the businesses evading tax.