FBR to roll out track-and-trace system to improve revenue collection

Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) will be rolling out the new track and trace system in July this year to enhance the revenue collection process in Pakistan.

This was announced by the officials of FBR during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs on Monday. In the meeting the Committee Chairman, Senator Farooq Hamid Naek was informed that the scope of the track and trace system would be expanded to industries like sugar, cement and fertilizer.

The new system from FBR will also monitor the beverage industry and would help in widening the tax base besides addressing the issue of under invoicing.

The committee chairman was also told that the board had earlier initiated the work on development of the said system, but the process was not completed. Now, the work has been initiated again and the system is said to be operational by July 2021.

Farooq Hamid also told the members to forward the Companies Amendment Bill 2020 to amend the Companies Act 2017, adding that it required additional deliberations.

Farooq said that the companies were exploiting precious natural resources, hence it’s their responsibility to allocate a proportion of their revenue to the development of their respective regions in a bid to uplift educational, healthcare and clean drinking water facilities.

Meanwhile, Senator Javed Abbasi addressing the meeting said, “If the companies spend only 2% of their net profit on corporate social responsibility schemes, it can bring significant changes. Due to fiscal and financial constraints, it is difficult for the government to fulfill the development requirements.”

Attending the meeting were senators including Muhammad Akram, Dilawar Khan and Zeeshan Khanzada. Along with the senators FBR chairman and senior officials of the Ministry of Finance, FBR and Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan were also present.