Islamabad: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has collected Rs434 billion revenue during the first two months of the current fiscal year.
FBR Chairman, Dr Mohammad Ashfaq Ahmed, in a media briefing, informed that FBR has collected Rs434bn in August which is Rs85bn more than the target of Rs349bn.
Overall, the tax department collected Rs850bn against the target of Rs690bn in two months which is Rs160bn more than the assigned target, he added.
Chairman also said that FBR released Rs364bn refunds besides getting Rs4721bn revenue in 2021.
Moreover, he informed that FBR has closed approximately 1600 illegal petrol stations while also acting against the smugglers.
FBR has also created Rs2600bn demands against the big business through audits, Ashfaq added.
He stated that the rise in inflation is due to imports. He explained that when the economy improves, it affects commodity prices.
Chairman said “International Monetary Fund (IMF) and our destination are the same. The IMF had instructed to impose new taxes and abolish exemptions whereas we have not imposed new taxes and we will achieve the tax target to run the economy”, he added.
He mentioned that they are in close coordination with the World Bank on the implementation of reforms.
Ahmed while responding to certain questions said that it’s the responsibility of the tax administration to issue notices to taxpayers.
He said that FBR will act against those people who have undeclared or unexplained assets abroad.
FBR has received information from the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and they have served notices to the people based on that information.
Answering another question, he replied that the government has allocated funds under the prize scheme and they will give Rs1.5 million prize through balloting.
Concerning reforms in FBR, he said that Pakistan has established 16 reform commissions and there is a dire need for restructuring instead of reforms. “We want to do better for the country and will improve the tax system”, he added.
He concluded the session by refusing any link between the termination of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Pakistan Revenue Automation Private Limited (PRAL) and the data hacking scam.
