The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is set to brief Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on its faceless tax administration system, digital monitoring initiatives and ongoing reforms aimed at addressing an estimated Rs1 trillion tax gap across 18 sectors.
According to Business Recorder, FBR headquarters remained open on Sunday to finalise a presentation outlining the organisation’s transformation plan, artificial intelligence-based tax return analysis, digital integration and proposed organisational restructuring.
The Prime Minister will chair a high-level meeting to review progress on tax administration reforms, with particular attention to improving transparency and addressing integrity concerns within the FBR’s field formations.
The government aims to complete the digital monitoring of sales and production in major industries by the end of December to reduce the gap between actual tax collection and potential revenue.
Digital monitoring systems have already been fully installed in the sugar, cement, tobacco, tiles and fertiliser sectors. Installation is currently underway in the textile, packaged water, packaged juice and packaged milk industries.
Meanwhile, equipment procurement for the steel, poultry and tyre sectors was completed by October 15. Procurement for the tea, household electronics, leather, paper and board, and oil and ghee industries is scheduled for completion by October 30.
The FBR will also present an update on its digital ecosystem initiative, which aims to connect economic activities throughout the supply chain, covering raw material production, imports, manufacturing and final consumer purchases.
These measures are intended to strengthen tax compliance, improve revenue collection and bring greater transparency to Pakistan’s tax administration system. The proposed reforms are expected to help identify revenue leakages and improve the monitoring of economic activity across key industries.
