Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed the immediate implementation of current reforms on Tuesday within the Federal Board of Return (FBR), highlighting the importance of digitization and automation to revise the tax system of Pakistan.
Chairing a high -level exam meeting, the Prime Minister stressed the need to rectify what he described as “70 years of poor management” in the country’s tax framework.
Shehbaz has promised maximum facilitation for taxpayers and honest companies, but promised strict legal action against persons involved in tax evasion, without concessions.
The meeting discussed the launch of a national targeting system designed to slow down the escape from the sales tax. This system will use electronic labels and digital devices to follow the transport of goods, supported by a Bilty E-Bilty mechanism integrated into the FBR system.
Digital surveillance facilities are provided on key roads and city entry points to reduce smuggling and facilitate suburban delays.
Officials also informed the Prime Minister of a customs targeting system to automate imports of imports and exports in ports and airports. This system will use artificial intelligence and will be linked to national and international databases to combat smuggling and tax fraud.
The plans to form the FBR staff on these new technologies have also been examined, with a progressive deployment to start with a pilot project in a big city.
Key sectors such as cement, hatching, poultry foods, tobacco and drinks will face stricter sales tax monitoring, expanding surveillance systems similar to those used in the sugar industry for tobacco, drinks, steel and cement sectors.
The Prime Minister stressed that all measures be implemented quickly, effectively and permanently.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was a high -level political committee to supervise the implementation of the national tax pact.
The Committee will also strive to build a consensus on the sharing of the debt burden between the federation and the provinces, and coordinate the development of a critical water infrastructure in the middle of the Indian aggression.
Vice-Prime Minister Ishaq Dar of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party President (PPP), Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, will be the co-chairs of the eight-members committee, according to the instructions published by the Prime Minister’s office.
According to the decision taken after a meeting between the PML-N and the PPP in Lahore on Sunday, the other members include ministers for the defense, planning, finance, economic affairs and law, as well as the prosecutor general of Pakistan (AGP).
