PM seeks report on sales tax frauds in three weeks

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has expressed strong displeasure over sales tax frauds in the past and sought a comprehensive report within three weeks.

The prime minister issued the directives while chairing a review meeting on reforms in the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

FBR officials briefed the premier on the tax body’s participation in the annual World Bank conference in Washington.

PM Sharif commended the FBR team for the positive response received to its case study on tax reforms at the global conference.

He was also briefed on the ongoing reform measures in the FBR and Pakistan Revenue Automation Limited (PRAL).

Officials informed the meeting that the reforms currently being implemented include audit vaults, database protection walls, a security operations centre, continuous database monitoring, and several other secure digital measures.

The meeting was told that the upgraded system now records a user’s IP address whenever data is altered, making tax fraud virtually impossible.

A fact-finding committee, formed to probe sales tax frauds that began in 2018-19, presented its findings to the prime minister.

The report revealed that the fraud had occurred due to PRAL’s outdated digital system, lack of monitoring, and weak database security.

The meeting was told that multiple corrective reforms have since been implemented as part of the overall modernisation process.

Expressing anger over the past frauds, PM Sharif ordered that a forensic audit of PRAL’s system be conducted by an international consultancy firm.

He also directed authorities to identify all institutions, companies, and individuals involved in the sales tax fraud and instructed the investigation committee to submit its findings within three weeks.

The prime minister further ordered that strict legal action be taken against all culprits identified in the upcoming report.