PM orders completion of production monitoring for sales tax across all sectors by Dec 31

Islamabad — Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has directed that production monitoring for sales tax purposes be completed across all productive sectors by the end of the current year, December 31.
Chairing a review meeting on FBR reforms in Islamabad, the prime minister was informed that camera-based production monitoring systems have been fully installed in the sugar, cement, tobacco, tiles and fertiliser sectors. Systems are being installed in textiles, packaged water, packaged juice and packaged milk, while procurement of equipment for the steel, poultry and tyres sectors will be completed by October 15.
The meeting was told that equipment procurement for tea, home appliances, leather, paper and board, and oil and ghee sectors will be completed by October 30.
The prime minister said the faceless system, supported by cameras, was making production monitoring more effective. He directed that obstacles to installing automated monitoring systems be removed, adding that businesses collecting tax from consumers but retaining it were not entitled to any concession.
He appreciated industries voluntarily installing monitoring systems. In the textile sector, Nishat Mills, Al-Karam Textile, Al-Karam Cotton Mills, JK Spinning Mills, Soorty Enterprises, Interloop, Faisal Spinning Mills, Ibrahim Fibres, Sapphire Textiles and Nishat Chunian have installed the system voluntarily.
Officials informed the meeting that enforcement measures had helped collect an additional Rs1.3 trillion in taxes over the past three years, representing a 40 percent increase in tax collection. The prime minister praised the FBR Transformation Team for preparing a comprehensive report on the gap between tax potential and actual collection, and presented shields to its members at the conclusion of the meeting.
Federal Ministers Ahsan Iqbal, Dr Musadik Malik, Ahad Khan Cheema and Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Minister of State Bilal Azhar Kayani, the prime minister’s adviser Haroon Akhtar and senior officials attended the meeting.