ISLAMABAD: In a bid to promote tax compliance and tax culture, more than 11,000 mobile phone SIMs of non-filers have been blocked so far across the country, confirmed a spokesperson of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Thursday. In a statement, the spokesperson of the tax collection body said: “11,252 SIMs have been blocked as of May 22 under Income Tax General Order.” “The FBR is committed to promoting tax compliance and tax culture.” The FBR, a day earlier, announced that more than 9,000 SIMs of the non-filers had been blocked all over the country as per the directives of the tax collection body. The spokesperson had said the FBR informed the telecommunication companies about the decision to block SIMs in order to curb tax evasion to improve revenue generation amid dire economic indicators in a meeting held earlier this week. “The decision has been made by parliament, therefore, the government’s decision should be implemented in any case,” he had added.Meanwhile, sources said that the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has distanced itself from the matter of SIM’s blocking.