Islamabad: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has directed the authorities concerned to complete implementation of the reforms in the tax system within the stipulated timeframe. He issued these directives while presiding over a weekly review meeting in Islamabad today on the reforms process in the Federal Board of Revenue.
According to Radio Pakistan, during the meeting, the Prime Minister was briefed on the restructuring of PRAL. He instructed to ensure a third-party audit of the reforms process, emphasizing that the reforms in the tax system are aimed at the country's development. The Prime Minister highlighted digitalization, production monitoring, and automated systems as key pillars of the FBR reforms.
Shehbaz Sharif directed the authorities to expedite effective action against tax evasion, smuggling, and illegal businesses. He remarked that the appointment of reputed goods evaluators in the FBR is a welcoming step and appreciated the efforts of the Chairman FBR and his team in this regard.
The meeting provided a detailed briefing on the ongoing reforms in the FBR, particularly the revamping of PRAL, the digitization of the tax system, and measures taken to curb smuggling. It was informed that phased-wise work is underway on IRIS 3.0, a new tax operating model, and a central data hub to make the tax system modern, integrated, and data-driven. Additionally, services of international consultants have been hired to design IRIS 3.0.
The meeting was told that work is rapidly underway on a project under IRIS 3.0 to make the tax system more effective, pilot auto-taxation, and utilize artificial intelligence and machine learning to further improve tax collection. New senior-level appointments have been made in PRAL across various sectors, including technology, data security, operations, and the tax domain.
Participants were informed about the positive impacts of faceless assessment in the customs sector, where a twelve percent increase has been recorded in average revenue per Goods Declaration from January to June this year. The system has also helped improve the identification and monitoring of irregularities in imports. The recruitment process of two hundred eighty Goods Evaluators is in its final stage.
A Central Assessment Unit is being established in Islamabad, expected to be operational by the end of December this year as an interim arrangement before becoming fully functional in a new complex by June next year. Transactions worth 236 billion rupees were recorded in July last year through digital invoicing, which increased to 2.5 trillion rupees in July this year, with a target of four trillion rupees set till December this year.
Several measures have been taken to prevent the illegal transportation of petroleum products, including GIS tagging of all legal petrol pumps, tracking petroleum products through GPS, connecting the ERP system of Oil Marketing Companies with the tracker, and a central tracking App for law enforcement agencies. Through the Rahguzar App, two thousand five hundred illegal petrol pumps have been closed down and legal action initiated against them. Work is also underway for digital monitoring of the sale of petroleum products.
