Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday instructed the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to rely on its own staff and also involve the private sector to trace tax-evading individuals and firms. Chairing a session to review reforms in the FBR, the prime minister urged the institution to ensure a business-friendly atmosphere and extend maximum facilities to taxpayers. 

Describing regular taxpayers as the backbone of the country’s economy, he directed the FBR to promptly finalize the Income Tax and Sales Taxpayers’ Directory to acknowledge taxpayers. He emphasized that recognizing taxpayers and penalizing tax evaders would broaden the tax base, and directed the use of professional expertise to detect evasion and secure revenue. 

PM Shehbaz also stressed the need to initiate a public awareness drive on government actions against tax evasion. The prime minister also instructed the FBR to select top international auditors for third-party reviews of mis-declaration and under-invoicing in customs clearance, also emphasising a continuous third-party reviews to identify system flaws and further improve it. 

During the briefing, the prime minister was apprised of the measures being taken to identify tax evaders, complete the Taxpayers’ Directory, and actions taken through super auditors to increase revenue. It was informed that work on completing the Taxpayers’ Directory to honor income and sales taxpayers was progressing rapidly and a scientific auditing system had been developed for third-party reviews of mis-declaration and under-invoicing in customs clearance. 

The meeting was informed that super auditors had been appointed to thoroughly review customs clearance and the risk management system to utilise its output to improve the risk management system. The meeting was attended by federal ministers Azam Nazeer Tarar, Ahad Khan Cheema, Attaullah Tarar, Dr. Musadik Masood Malik, Muhammad Aurangzeb, Ali Pervez Malik, and senior officials from relevant institutions.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)