PM Shehbaz directs to accelerate implementation of FBR reforms

Islamabad (Web Desk): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called for a faster pace in the implementation of reforms at the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), directing authorities to strengthen enforcement efforts to meet the government’s revenue collection goals.

He made these remarks while presiding over a weekly meeting in Islamabad to review progress on the FBR’s ongoing reform programme.

PM Shehbaz expressed satisfaction over the growing trust of the business community in the tax reforms and instructed the FBR chairman and senior officials to spend two days every month in Karachi and Lahore.

The move is aimed at maintaining closer engagement with the business community and addressing issues linked to the reform process.

PM Shehbaz also ordered the FBR to intensify its enforcement drive so that the assigned revenue target could be achieved.

He praised the department for taking action against illegal cigarette manufacturing units operating in Chakwal and Swabi.

The prime minister stressed that work on the proposed faceless Inland Revenue system must be completed within the stipulated timeframe. He directed that the system be fully implemented across the country by 2027.

Officials briefed the meeting that the initial phase of the faceless Inland Revenue mechanism is scheduled to begin functioning on October 1 this year.

It was informed that Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other modern technologies, form a major component of the FBR’s ongoing digitalisation efforts.

The new framework will feature a National Faceless Audit Wing to examine tax returns, while a Faceless Assessment Unit will undertake tax assessments, reducing direct interaction in the tax administration process.

Federal Ministers Azam Nazeer Tarar, Dr Musadik Masood Malik, Ahad Khan Cheema, Muhammad Aurangzeb, Attaullah Tarar and Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Haroon Akhtar, State Bank Governor Jameel Ahmad and senior officials from the relevant institutions were also present at the meeting.