Can I be stopped from travelling abroad because I am not a filer?

What does the law say?

Section 114B of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 gives the Federal Board of Revenue power to issue an income tax general order against people “who are not appearing on active taxpayers’ list but are liable to file return under the provisions of the Ordinance.” Section 181A is the provision that lets the Board institute that list.

Under section 114B(2), a general order may bring any or all of these consequences for the people named in it:

Clause	Consequence
(a)	disabling of mobile phones or mobile phone SIMs
(b)	discontinuance of electricity connection
(c)	discontinuance of gas connection
(d)	restriction on foreign travel from the country for a citizen of Pakistan

Clause (d) was added by the Finance Act, 2024, according to the footnote in the official text.

Who is excluded from the travel restriction?

Clause (d) carries its own list of exclusions. It does not apply to:

• persons holding a National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP);
• minors;
• students;
• persons proceeding abroad for Hajj or Umrah; and
• “such other classes of persons as notified by the Board.”

The restriction is also written for “a citizen of Pakistan”. The clause says nothing further about people who travel on a foreign passport. This corpus does not hold any Board notification adding further excluded classes, so this page cannot say whether any exist.

When can someone be put on a general order?

Section 114B(4) sets three conditions, all of which must be met:

1. a notice under section 114(4) has been issued;
2. the date for complying with that notice has passed; and
3. the person has not filed the return.

A section 114(4) notice asks a person who, in the Commissioner’s opinion, must file a return but has not done so, to file within thirty days or such other period as the notice specifies. Under section 114(5) the notice can cover one or more of the last five completed tax years, or the last ten where the person has not filed for any of the last five. A further proviso removes that time limit where the Commissioner records that a non-filer has foreign income or owns foreign assets.

Who is “liable to file” in the first place?

A general order can only name people who are liable to file under the Ordinance. Section 114(1) lists who must file. It includes, for example, every person other than a company whose taxable income exceeds the amount not chargeable to tax, and every person whose income is subject to final taxation. Whether an overseas Pakistani is liable turns on residence and on Pakistan-source income, which the related pages explain.

Worked example (illustrative scenario)

Three members of the Qureshi family are not on the active taxpayers’ list, and each has received and ignored a section 114(4) notice.

• Adnan works in Riyadh and holds a NICOP. Clause (d) excludes NICOP holders, so the travel restriction cannot apply to him. The text of clauses (a) to (c) contains no NICOP exclusion.
• Farah lives in Multan, holds only a CNIC and runs a boutique. If she is liable to file and the three conditions in section 114B(4) are met, a general order may restrict her foreign travel, unless she falls in another excluded class.
• Hamza, 16, is a minor. Clause (d) excludes minors in any case.

Does a general order stop other action?

No. Section 114B(5) says action under the section “shall not preclude any other action provided under the provisions of the Ordinance.” Being named in a general order does not replace the other consequences the Ordinance attaches to not filing a return.

Common mistakes

• Assuming every overseas Pakistani is protected. The exclusion is for NICOP holders. A citizen abroad who travels on a CNIC only is not named in the exclusion.
• Assuming a restriction can come without notice. Section 114B(4) requires an ignored section 114(4) notice first.
• Assuming filing automatically restores travel. Section 114B(3) speaks only of phones, SIMs, electricity and gas.

What to check in the official text

Read sections 114, 114B and 181A of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 as amended to 30 June 2026. Whether a general order has actually been issued, who is named in it, and any Board notification adding excluded classes, are published separately and are not in this corpus. Immigration procedures at the airport are also outside this site’s scope.