Key Takeaways
- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif set December 31 as the deadline for installing monitoring systems.
- The systems aim to plug tax leaks and ensure businesses pay their due share.
- Installation is ongoing in various sectors, with full operationalization expected by year-end.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has set December 31 as the deadline for the installation of automated production monitoring systems across manufacturing sectors in Pakistan. The move aims to address tax evasion and ensure businesses comply with their tax obligations.
At a review meeting on Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) reforms, the prime minister emphasized the need to remove obstacles to the installation of camera-based monitoring systems. He warned that businesses withholding sales tax collected from consumers would not be entitled to any concessions.
The meeting was briefed that production monitoring systems have been fully installed in the sugar, cement, tobacco, tiles, and fertiliser sectors. Installation is underway in the textile, packaged water, packaged juice, and packaged milk industries, with the procurement of required equipment completed.
Officials stated that equipment procurement for the steel, poultry, and tyre sectors is scheduled to be completed by October 15, while procurement for tea, household electronics, leather, paper and board, and edible oil and ghee is due by October 30. The monitoring systems across all these sectors are expected to become fully operational by the end of the year.
The prime minister praised businesses that had voluntarily installed monitoring systems, particularly in the textile sector, where some industries had resisted implementation. Companies commended for complying with the government’s measures included Nishat Mills, Alkaram Textile, Alkaram Cotton Mills, JK Spinning Mills, Surti Enterprises, Interloop Ltd, Faisal Spinning Mills, Ibrahim Fibres Ltd, Sapphire Textiles Ltd, and Nishat Chunian.
The meeting also reviewed a report assessing the gap between the country’s tax collection and its estimated tax potential. The FBR Transformation Team informed participants that government measures had generated an additional Rs1.3 trillion in tax revenue over the past three years, representing a 40 per cent increase in tax collection. This additional revenue was attributed to enforcement measures.
The prime minister commended the team for preparing a comprehensive assessment of the country’s tax potential and presented shields to its members in recognition of their efforts. He said the government would continue to take measures to bridge the gap between actual tax collection and the country’s full revenue potential.
Separately, the prime minister directed the Ministry of Information Technology to audit the system’s effectiveness in other industries. The meeting was attended by Federal ministers Azam Tarar, Musadik Malik, Ahad Cheema, and Shaza Fatima, along with State Minister for Finance Bilal Kayani, the prime minister’s adviser on industries and production Haroon Akhtar, and senior officials concerned.
