ISLAMABAD: Standing Committee of Senate on Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs on Monday was informed that Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has collected Rs1280 billion against a target of Rs1447 billion by October 31, which was 16.3 percent higher than the previous year.
The committee was informed about details of revenue collected during the Financial Year 2019-20 as against a target of Rs5.5 trillion set by the FBR.
Briefing about details of increase in number of tax-payers in the current financial year, it was informed by senior FBR official that an increase of 65.2 percent was witnessed vis-a-vis the corresponding period of last year.
The committee was also informed that out of 2,655,081 return filers, 888,748 new tax-payers have been added.
The number of individuals that availed Asset Declaration Ordinance 2019 was 124,208. Tax-payers of Rs4.7 billion under the present scheme were also observed, he said.
The committee took up the agenda which included smuggling of LED TVs, referred by Chairman Senate, briefing on details of non-performing loans and reasons for increase since July 2018, steps taken to get Pakistan out of the FATF Grey List and details of tax collection 2019-20, increase in number of tax-payers and sums of money recovered.
Discussing the details of smuggling of LED TVs, the body was informed that the ongoing momentum of countrywide enforcement operations against smuggling of goods including LED TVs was in full swing. These measures have registered an increase of 40 percent during FY 2018-19 as compared to previous financial years.
It was pointed out that the main challenge, faced by the agency, was a a ban on recruitment which has now been lifted.
The committee stressed the need for training of forces that have been granted anti-smuggling powers such as the Coast Guards and Frontier Corps.
Reviewing whether increases in taxes and duties have contributed to a rise in smuggling of goods, the committee was informed that there was zero percent tax on raw material and it was done specifically to encourage industrialization. The body also called for legislation on the specific issue.
Deliberating the steps taken to get Pakistan out of the FATF Grey List, the committee was informed that Pakistan was committed to align the country with global financial system and position Pakistan as a reliable partner in countering global Money Laundering Terror Financing challenges.
Towards this end, Pakistan has formalized Internal Action Plan to revamp legal regulatory and supervising framework.
It called for legislative re-vamp in banking and financial systems, institutional reorganization and capacity building, addressing enforcement E-governance and financial challenges, autonomy of regulatory framework and regimes while ensuring their permanency.
In addition to this, Pakistan sought to revamp the entire AML/CFT Regime. According to FATF assessment Pakistan has largely addressed five out of 27 action items.
