The Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) digitalization and revolutionary plan, according to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, are the “need of the hour to bring about economic reforms in the country.”
As per the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) statement, at a meeting to examine the issues concerning the FBR, the premier was informed that the tax agency had developed an internal “transformative plan” to enhance its offerings.
The strategy called for better enforcement of tax rules, rewarding police who performed well in order to increase tax receipts, and making effective use of technology.
According to the statement, the plan was developed on the prime minister’s orders after a 25-year analysis of tax receipts and collaboration with specialists in economics and technology.
Formulated by FBR personnel and specialists over the previous 40 days, the programme is supposed to “ensure tax collection without impeding economic development” and facilitate “the honest taxpayers”.
The plan also stipulates that transactions conducted by anyone who commit fraud or fail to pay their taxes in full on time will be subject to severe penalties.
The group was informed that these kinds of actions will only be put into effect after consulting with “good taxpayers.”
During the first phase of the strategy, experts and auditors would support the “efficient and competent officers” who would be deployed in Karachi, the biggest taxpayer unit that contributes 32% of the receipts.
The proposal also calls for rewarding officers who do well and requiring officers to complete a professional degree program at the top colleges following both common and specialized training.
As for the FBR’s transformation plan, the prime minister expressed gratitude and added that “enhanced tax receipts would upgrade service delivery and the social sector.”
Additionally, he referred to the taxing body as “the backbone of the national economy.”
Nevertheless, the prime minister gave the FBR instructions to confer with well-known taxpayers about the proposal and request approval of the changes in collaboration with the government agencies to ensure their successful execution.
In addition, he oversaw independent assessments of FBR’s initiatives and accelerated initiatives to stop smuggling.
The announcement informed the attendees that in order to prevent the theft of custom duties, an assessment and enforcement mechanism had been developed that would entrust the duty to appraisers and inspectors without their previous knowledge, under camera surveillance.
