e-Pay Punjab collects PKR 22.9 Billion, of which citizens paid PKR 5 Billion as Token tax

e-Pay Punjab has collected a staggering PKR 22.9 Billion through 5 million+ transactions in the past 18 months. The revenue was collected as online payments of 19 different Taxes/Levies for 8 different departments, the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) announced on Tuesday. The board also announced that of the amount collected, PKR 5 Billion was received as Token Tax.

E-Pay Punjab achieved the impressive milestone through 5,000,000 million transactions in a period of 18 months.

Earlier, e-Pay Punjab crossed 4.3 million transactions and collected PKR 20 billion in tax revenue while being hailed as a game-changer by the PITB last month. It had also reported over PKR 1.82 billion in tax revenues from the citizens in August 2020.

Launched in 2019, e-Pay Punjab is Pakistan’s first-ever digital aggregator for Public to Government (P2G) and Business to Government (B2G) payments, allowing users to pay their respective dues through four payment channels, i.e., mobile banking, internet banking, ATM, OTC (Over the Counter) banking transactions. The project gained traction last year when the COVID-19 pandemic reached its peak, and the government encouraged the citizens to rely on electronic payments.

This solution was developed by the Punjab IT Board (PITB) under the Finance Department of Punjab’s instructions and guidance. At the backend, it is integrated with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and 1-link for interconnectivity across the entire banking network in Pakistan. The app enables the citizens to make online payments of 19 different Taxes/Levies for 8 different departments.

To pay the tax dues, an individual needs to access the e-Pay Punjab application or website to generate a 17-digit PSID number which is unique for each transaction and can be subsequently be used on the aforementioned four payment channels, i.e., Mobile Banking, Internet Banking, ATM, or OTC by the citizens to pay the tax dues.