PM Shehbaz orders tighter tax collection enforcement

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday called for tighter enforcement of tax collection through modern, automated monitoring of the country’s most productive sectors, in a bid to curb evasion and significantly increase state revenue.

Speaking at a weekly review meeting on Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) affairs, Sharif welcomed the recruitment of experts to the executive team of Pakistan Revenue Automation Limited (PRAL), stressing that the body should function as a proactive institution in overseeing tax compliance.

“The use of technology must be maximised to ensure transparency, accountability, and revenue growth,” he said.

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Sharif also urged the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) to expedite the serialization of all domestically manufactured medicines, while instructing that key taxpayer systems – including the auto tax system, digital invoicing platform, IRIS, and related applications – be made accessible in Urdu and other regional languages to increase public participation.

In a detailed briefing to the prime minister, FBR officials outlined ongoing initiatives to use modern, technology-driven systems across multiple sectors to monitor production and enhance tax collection.

The officials said that production monitoring is already active in sugar, cement, cigarette, and fertilizer factories, employing video analytics, unit counting, barcode scanning, stamping, and serialization techniques. They said early results have already contributed to higher tax revenues.

Officials indicated that similar measures are being expanded to textiles, leather, paper, automobiles, and beverages, which they expect could generate additional revenue worth billions of rupees.

Amendments to the law governing Alternate Dispute Resolution Committees (ADRCs) have also been enacted to improve transparency and restore taxpayer confidence, with the government projecting Rs80 billion in revenue collection through ADRCs by 30 June 2026.

Between July 2025 and January 2026, FBR rulings on tax cases, according to officials, generated Rs102.9 billion, with pending cases expected to yield an additional Rs369 billion by June 2026.

The briefing highlighted that PRAL’s new executive team is fully operational and its digital invoicing system is now functional, having processed Rs800 billion in transactions in January and February.

Officials said the government remains on track to achieve the target of Rs3 trillion in digital invoicing by April.

FBR’s new data centre, designed to meet modern requirements, has also been completed.

Officials noted the introduction of a digital cargo tracking system, particularly the e-Bilty platform, to prevent smuggling, as well as an integrated GPS tracking system for petroleum products.

Federal ministers Muhammad Aurangzeb, Ahad Cheema, Musadik Malik, Attaullah Tarar, Shiza Fatima Khawaja, Ali Pervaiz Malik, Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kiyani, Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Awan, FBR Chairman Rashid Langrial and senior officials from relevant institutions attended the meeting.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026