In an important development aimed at overhauling tax administration, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired a pivotal meeting in Islamabad focusing on reforms within the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
The meeting, which lasted four hours, reviewed progress on digitization and reforms in both Inland Revenue and Customs departments.
One of the key highlights was the detection of a massive fraud amounting to Rs 800 billion in tax refunds over the past four months. Addressing this issue, the meeting emphasized the need for improved systems to prevent such fraudulent activities in the future and to streamline the tax refund process.
The discussion also touched upon the staggering backlog of 83,589 tax cases pending in various courts and tribunals. Measures were outlined to expedite these cases and enhance the efficiency of tax appellate tribunals, particularly in customs-related matters.
Modern technology played a crucial role, with the government leveraging it to identify two million potential taxpayers. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif underscored the importance of bringing these individuals into the tax net promptly while ensuring that the burden does not fall disproportionately on the lower-income segments of society.
Looking ahead, the Prime Minister directed FBR to develop a comprehensive strategy for reclaiming illegal refunds and emphasized the full digitization of the Fraud Detection and Investigation Department.
Additionally, plans were set in motion to centralize all ongoing reform projects within FBR under a unified system, with a focus on swift software design and implementation.
