Prime Minister Shebaz Sharif Reviews FBR Reforms, Stresses Improved Tax Compliance and Enforcement

ISLAMABAD, Oct 12 (APP):Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, Monday, directed the completion of a production monitoring system for sales tax purposes across all manufacturing sectors by the end of this year.

Chairing a review meeting on FBR reforms in Islamabad, the prime minister observed that production monitoring through cameras under the faceless taxation system was being made more effective and directed the removal of obstacles in the installation of automated monitoring systems.

He warned that those businesses who had been collecting taxes from consumers but pocketing the same amount instead of depositing it with the government exchequer did not deserve any concession.

Ministers Azam Nazeer Tarar, Dr Musadik Malik, Ahad Khan Cheema and Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Minister of State Bilal Azhar Kayani, Prime Minister’s Adviser Haroon Akhtar and senior officials concerned attended the meeting, PM Office Media Wing said in a press release.

The prime minister appreciated those in the manufacturing sector that were voluntarily installing production monitoring systems and said the government would take all necessary measures to achieve the country’s full tax potential.

He commended the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Transformation Team for preparing a comprehensive assessment of the country’s tax potential in the production sector.

He also appreciated the audit report on the production monitoring system in the cement sector and directed the Ministry of Information Technology to audit the system in other sectors to assess its effectiveness.

The prime minister said collecting taxes in accordance with the country’s full revenue potential was a meaningful service to the public.

The meeting was briefed that the production monitoring system had been fully installed in the sugar, cement, tobacco, tiles and fertilizer sectors while the installation process was underway in the textile, packaged water, packaged juice and packaged milk sectors, with procurement of the required equipment had been completed.

The meeting was further informed that procurement of equipment for the steel, poultry and tyre sectors would be completed by October 15, while procurement for the tea, household electronics, leather, paper and board, and oil and ghee sectors would be completed by October 30.

The monitoring system was expected to become fully operational across all these manufacturing sectors by December 31 this year.

The prime minister was also informed about resistance from several industries to installing monitoring systems in the textile sector. However, Nishat Mills, Alkaram Textile, Alkaram Cotton Mills, J.K. Spinning Mills, Surti Enterprises, Interloop Limited, Faisal Spinning Mills, Ibrahim Fibres Limited, Sapphire Textiles Limited and Nishat Chunian had voluntarily installed the systems in compliance with government measures.

The prime minister appreciated these companies for their cooperation.

The meeting was also presented with a review report on the gap between tax collection and the country’s tax potential, including an assessment of the revenue that could be generated through improved tax compliance and enforcement.

It was informed that government measures had resulted in the collection of an additional Rs1.3 trillion in taxes over the past three years, representing a 40% increase in tax collection. The meeting was told that the additional revenue had been generated through enforcement measures.

The prime minister commended the FBR Transformation Team for its round-the-clock efforts in preparing a comprehensive report assessing the gap between the country’s tax potential and actual collection.

He particularly appreciated the officials who prepared the report and presented them with shields at the conclusion of the meeting.