Shehbaz Sharif Directs Major Overhaul in Tax Appellate System

Directs FBR to develop comprehensive strategy for reclaiming illegal refunds,

Islamabad(Staff Reporter);Shehbaz Sharif Directs Major Overhaul in Tax Appellate System, 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.

 Increase in Appellate Tribunals:

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has instructed that the number of Appellate Tribunals be increased to 100 to expedite the resolution of tax cases .
Customs Cases and Dashboard:

The prime minister also directed an increase in the number of Appellate Tribunals for Customs cases and the creation of a dashboard to evaluate the performance of Tax Appellate Tribunals ¹ ² ³ ⁴.
Tax Refund Fraud:

The prime minister stated that tax refund fraud amounting to Rs 800 billion was uncovered in the past four months, and emphasized further improvements to the tax refund system ¹ ² ³ ⁴.
Digitization:

The prime minister instructed the relevant authorities to employ the latest technology and the best personnel for the digitization of the FBR ¹ ² ³ ⁴.
Unified Sales Tax System:

Shehbaz Sharif instructed the implementation of a unified sales tax system for all taxpayers by October 2024

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.

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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.

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