Business processes: PRA taking big leap towards integrated automated solution

LAHORE: The Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) is all set to launch Punjab Sales Tax on Services Return in August 2024, considering it a giant leap towards an integrated automated solution to its tax business processes and paperless environment.

The PRA, after implementing Single Sales Tax Return (SSTR) for businesses operating at cross provincial level, is all set to launch its new sales tax module for businesses providing services only within the territory of Punjab under the directions of Finance Minister Punjab Mujataba Shuja-ur-Rehman.

Taxpayers will file their sales tax returns for the tax period from July 2024 onwards through the new system. The PRA declares the launching of its new return a giant leap in achieving the goal of having an end-to-end automated tax solution. The new return envisages all calculations, checks, validations and verifications under the provisions of the Punjab Sales Tax on Services Act 2012 thus mitigating any chances of loss of revenue.

The system is web-based and e-interactive and will be able to achieve a paperless environment. The system will also cater to the needs of tax officers to issue e-notices on account of non-filing, approvals on account of extension and revision of sales tax returns.

The taxpayers, besides e-filing their tax returns, will also be able to file online applications for extension and return revision along with scanned copies of relevant documents, which will save the taxpayers from visiting PRA offices. Before implementation of the return module, thorough User Acceptance Testing (UAT) by the PRA domain team as well as by stakeholders has been undertaken and the PRA plans to conduct province-wide workshops for training and education of taxpayers and other stakeholders.

User guides will also be available on the PRA website for the facilitation of taxpayers. After the implementation of the return module, PRA is on its way to developing an assessment module through which the officers will be able to make correct assessments of the value of services and sales tax thereon through audit or otherwise after sending online notices.

According to the PRA, since its establishment in 2012, while realising the importance of information technology (IT), it adopted online filing of registration applications, e-filing of its Sales Tax Return and tax payment through Computerised Payment Receipt/Challan (CPR).

The PRA was the first organisation in Pakistan to adopt the Restaurant Invoice Monitoring System (RIMS) later developed into an electronic-Invoice Management System (e-IMS) extended to other services in addition to restaurants. In January 2018, it also adopted the Sales Tax Real-Time Invoice Verification (STRIVE) System of e-filing, which minimised the chances of tax fraud besides facilitating taxpayers to claim cross-input tax adjustment before FBR and vice versa.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024