KARACHI: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has decided to deploy a monitoring system in the leather sector to record real-time leather production by November 2026.
The decision is part of FBR’s wider transformation plan, and the monitoring system would have a hybrid, technology-neutral approach. It would capture real-time or near-real-time data on production, processing, packing and dispatch at notified leather facilities across the country.
According to an official document, the monitoring system would cover the full range of leather-sector outputs from raw hides and skins, wet blue, crust and finished leather, to leather sheets, rolls, bundles, footwear, garments, bags, gloves, belts, wallets and upholstery components.
Furthermore, it said the system would capture data at key points along the production chain, including raw material receiving, tanning, splitting, dyeing, finishing, cutting, stitching, assembly, quality grading, packing, warehousing and dispatch.
The hybrid, technology-neutral approach would also combine tools such as barcode and QR-code scanning, weighing systems, industrial sensors, machine-counter and PLC integration, RFID tagging, and AI-enabled cameras, depending on whether a facility is a tannery, a finished-goods manufacturer, or an integrated operation combining both.
With this system, FBR will get tamper-resistant and auditable data to support reconciliation of monitored production against taxpayer records, invoices, and import/export declarations, official sources said.
The system is expected to be phased in cumulatively: 20% of eligible production lines by November 15, 2026, 50% by December 15, 2026, and full (100%) coverage by December 31, 2026, they added.
Meanwhile, they confirmed that the system development would be outsourced and the board, which has now shortlisted four developers after technical evaluation, would grant the contract in the coming days.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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