Shaukat Fayaz Ahmed Tarin, Minister of Finance and Revenue, paid a visit to the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) headquarters today and spoke with officers. The meeting’s primary objective was to develop a plan for increasing retailer integration with FBR’s Point of Sale (POS) system.
Additionally, the group reviewed strategies for bringing identified potential taxpayers into the tax system. Dr. Waqar Masood Khan, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue, and Asim Ahmad, Chairman of the FBR, were present at the meeting, as were other members of the FBR.
Chairman FBR stated that the licencing process for IT businesses to instal and configure POS systems would be completed by the end of August. He stated that monitoring cells would be constituted in each regional tax office (RTO), headed by the relevant Chief Commissioner, to supervise the POS integration for obtaining desired results.
The Minister of Finance and Revenue has been asked to ensure effective tracking of installed point-of-sale terminals and to offer retailers with post-deployment support. He also urged officials to ascertain the overall volume of sales made by retailers in order to maximise revenue generation via the point-of-sale system once input and output taxes are adjusted. He directed the establishment of a cell at FBR’s headquarters to expedite POS integration.
Additionally, the group reviewed a strategy for broadening the tax base. The FBR team informed that a sizable number of potential taxpayers were identified after third-party sharing of their withholding tax data. The Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board stated that efforts are being made to bring all recognised potential taxpayers into the tax system.
Finance and Revenue Minister urged to remove all impediments to bringing identified potential taxpayers into the tax net. He requested further information about potential taxpayers based on third-party data obtained from trustworthy sources.
The Minister emphasised the importance of finalising the third-party auditing procedures, which would not only broaden the tax base but also produce much-needed revenue. The discussion concluded with the decision to have frequent meetings to expedite the pursuit of the goal.
