WEB DESK: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif instructed the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Thursday to expedite efforts towards digitization, as reported by Radio Pakistan.
In a meeting today focused on FBR reforms and digitization, the Prime Minister highlighted the discovery of tax refund fraud amounting to 800 billion rupees in the last four months.
He emphasized the need for further enhancement of the tax refund system and underscored that reforms within the FBR could lead to increased revenue.
Shehbaz Sharif expressed regret over unnecessary delays in implementing various reform projects within the FBR. The meeting disclosed that there are 83,579 pending tax cases valued at 3.2 trillion rupees across different courts and tribunals.
Steps have been taken by the current government to address these pending cases, with 63 cases worth 44 billion rupees being resolved by courts in the last four months.
Advanced technology has identified 4.9 million individuals capable of paying taxes, and the Prime Minister instructed that efforts be focused on bringing wealthy individuals from this group into the tax net without burdening the poor.
Additionally, 150,000 retailers have been registered through a trader-friendly mobile application since April, with Shehbaz Sharif advising continued consultation to optimize this system’s efficiency.
He called for an increase in the number of appellate tribunals to 100 for faster case resolutions and directed enhancements specifically for customs-related cases. Instructions were also given to develop a performance assessment dashboard for appellate tribunals.
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Shehbaz Sharif stressed the full digitization of the Fraud Detection and Investigation Department within the FBR and emphasized the need for a centralized system to oversee all ongoing reform initiatives within the board.
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