PM Shehbaz directs FBR to include millions of wealthy individuals in tax net

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has urged the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to expedite its efforts towards digitisation.

In a meeting today focused on FBR reforms and digitisation, the Prime Minister highlighted significant developments, including the uncovering of tax refund fraud amounting to Rs800 billion over the past four months.

According to Radio Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif stressed the need for further enhancement of the tax refund system and underscored that reforms within the FBR could substantially boost revenue generation. He expressed disappointment over delays in the implementation of several reform projects within the FBR.

During the meeting, it was disclosed that there are currently 83,579 pending tax cases valued at 3.2 trillion rupees across various courts and tribunals. The government has taken proactive measures to resolve these cases, with 63 cases amounting to Rs44 billion being disposed of in the last four months alone.

The implementation of advanced technology has identified 4.9 million potential taxpayers. Shehbaz Sharif instructed that priority be given to bringing wealthy individuals from this group into the tax net without placing additional burdens on the poor.

Moreover, the meeting highlighted that 150,000 retailers have been registered via a trader-friendly mobile phone application since April this year. The Prime Minister advised ongoing consultations with retailers to enhance the system’s efficiency.

He also instructed the expansion of appellate tribunals to 100 for expeditious case resolutions, particularly in customs-related matters, and called for the development of a performance assessment dashboard for these tribunals.

Additionally, Shehbaz Sharif directed the complete digitisation of the Fraud Detection and Investigation Department within the FBR and stressed the need to centralise all ongoing reform projects under a unified strategy.

The Prime Minister’s directives underscore a concerted effort towards modernising tax administration and combating fraud, aiming to bolster Pakistan’s fiscal health and efficiency in revenue collection.

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