Implementation of automated processes in tax machinery: FBR begins work towards IT policy formulation

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for the first time decided to a draft a new policy on information technology to use IT systems, automation and integration of taxes as a major tool to increase revenue collection. Sources told Business Recorder here on Thursday that at present there is no FBR's IT policy available to the tax officials for automation of tax processes and implementation of the IT systems within the tax machinery.
In the absence of the IT strategy in the FBR, tax machinery is unable to effectively implement the business processes or properly integrate taxes on national level. Now the FBR has started working on an IT policy to issue some guidelines on the implementation of automated processes in the tax machinery. If the automation in the tax machinery has been achieved at the desirable level, there is a huge potential in revenue growth. The automation of tax processes has not been given due importance keeping in view enormous potential in revenue growth with the help of electronic integration of taxes. The issue of IT systems in the FBR was also discussed in a recent meeting at the FBR on the working of IT systems in the Turkey's Revenue Administration (RA), an ideal example of successful automation for the Pakistani tax authorities. It was informed that the Turkish tax department has adopted Turkish Tax Office Automation System (VEDOP). Turkey has also been included in the global trend; the VEDOP and correspondingly e-government applications and taxation services have started to be implemented through using computer technology on a large scale. Turkish tax system involves a variety of different tax types that have different time periods of collection.
The tax office automation projects pursue three goals: (a) ensuring a more equitable distribution of the tax burden (tax equity), (b) making tax collection more efficient (reduce administrative costs of taxation) and (c) providing better services to citizens and businesses (reduce compliance costs of taxation).
During the meeting it was informed that the Tax Office Automation Project started as a pilot project in 1995. The first phase covered the period from 1998 to 2001, whereas the second phase of the VEDOP project began in 2004. The Internet tax office system of Turkey is part of the Ministry's overall Revenue Administration system called VEDOP.
The Turkish Internet Tax Office (ITO) has been in service since 1999 as part of the Tax Office Full Automation Project (VEDOP). The ITO is one of the government offices created to achieve transparency of public administration and individuals' access to government records. The ITO, online allows tax subjects to track down their tax processes and their own information online.
Sources said that the ITO consists of corporate tax administration, income tax administration, and motor Vehicles tax administration offices. Individuals could search for information at the Web site such as tax identity information, certification numbers, notices of assessment and revenues, matured and non-matured tax information, additional notifications regarding terms and assessment, revenue information, electronic processes of tax collection, and prohibitions to travel abroad for non-paying individuals.Taxpayers could also search for vehicle information registered to automated tax administrations, information on motor-vehicles tax due, traffic ticket information, and all other collections of information from the mentioned Web site. Daily information of the automated tax administrations is transferred to the central database via VEDOP.
Electronic Bank Collection Project (EBTIS) also evolved within the structure of VEDOP. EBTIS helps process tax-payment transfers through banks. Accordingly, electronic banking payments eased the processing of over ten million tax-payment receipts. The ITO also enables searching for motor vehicles that are registered to automated tax offices for traffic ticket information, vehicle tax information, and other such information.