Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has established a 10-member Task Force to oversee the comprehensive digitalisation of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
The task force, chaired by State Minister for Finance and Revenue Ali Pervaiz Malik, includes members from both the public and private sectors.
According to a letter from the PM office, the Task Force aims to implement policy interventions and data automation/software solutions for the FBR. Major General Syed Ali Raza will co-chair the task force.
The task force members are Ghazi Akhtar (Lotte Akhtar Beverages Ltd), Ziad Bashir (BoD Gul Ahmed), Amir Malik (ex-CEO PRAL), Fareed Zafar (LUMS), Asif Peer (Systems Ltd), Tania Aidrus, Waqas ul Hasan (Karandaz), and Gohar Marwat (Project Officer, NADRA). The Task Force may include additional members from the public or private sector if necessary.
The Terms of Reference (ToR) for the Task Force include:
- Data integration with Provincial Revenue Authorities and across Ministries/Government departments.
- Risk-based auditing using CNIC as the primary identifier to broaden the tax base.
- Supply chain automation for wholesalers, distributors, and middlemen.
- Implementation of a Track & Trace System.
- Restructuring PRAL as an independent IT bureau for data and statistics generation.
- Trade data sharing interface with trading partners for effective valuation/appraisal.
The task force will present its recommendations and plan to the Prime Minister within one month. The FBR will provide secretarial support to the task force.
In a related development, Prime Minister Sharif set a target for his economic team to expedite the transformation of the FBR during a review meeting on the Track and Trace System. He emphasised the importance of reforms to improve Pakistan’s tax system and directed immediate action against those responsible for deficiencies and irregularities.
Federal ministers Muhammad Aurangzeb, Ahad Khan Cheema, State Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik, Coordinator of Prime Minister Ihsan Afzal, and other high-level officials attended the meeting.
