15-07-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
PM spells out his govt's top tax priorities
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday called for simplifying tax returns and launching digital invoicing in Urdu to facilitate easier tax filing for citizens, while highlighting ongoing reforms including the implementation of an AI-based tax assessment system.
Speaking at a weekly review meeting on the digitisation efforts of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Sharif emphasised the need to focus reforms on the convenience of the average taxpayer. He directed the introduction of third-party validation to ensure transparency in all FBR reforms.
'The new simplified digital tax returns primarily benefit salaried individuals,' the prime minister said, urging a public awareness campaign to encourage wider tax compliance under the revamped system.
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Sharif credited Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, the economic team, and FBR Chairman Rashid Langrial for their roles in advancing the reforms, which aim to broaden the tax base while easing the burden on low-income groups.
For the first time in history of the country, the government is implementing an AI-based tax assessment system, he noted, calling it 'a significant milestone'.
He also stressed the importance of extending special facilitation to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to incorporate them into the digital invoicing framework.
In a briefing, the meeting was informed about the progress on digital invoicing, e-bilty (electronic transport documentation), simplified tax returns, AI assessment systems, and the establishment of a Central Command and Control Center.
The FBR expects to complete bidding for the Command and Control Unit soon, with full operational capacity targeted by September to enable centralized data access and decision-making.
Under the AI-based system, traders can submit Advance Goods Declarations (AGD) before ship arrivals, granting exemptions on upfront duties and taxes. Compliance with AGD is expected to rise sharply from 3 per cent to over 95 per cent, facilitating direct container movement from ports to factories.
The digital invoicing system will require all businesses to issue invoices online at the point of sale, with around 20,000 businesses expected to join in the coming months.
In the first month alone, 8,000 invoices worth Rs11.6 billion were processed. The system includes a taxpayer portal and monitoring dashboard and is integrated with Pakistan Revenue Automation Ltd (PRAL) free of charge.
Once fully implemented, traders will no longer need to file separate sales tax returns, as transactions will be automatically recorded. Additional measures include the introduction of an eight-digit Harmonized System (HS) code aligned with international standards to combat fake invoices and improve sales tax system monitoring.
Simplified digital tax returns for salaried individuals will be available from July 15, with the facility expanding to other taxpayers by July 30. Urdu versions of the returns will also be introduced by the end of the month. The prime minister called for a dedicated helpline and third-party public surveys to assess the ease of filing under the new system.
On the cargo tracking and e-bilty system, officials said real-time monitoring of goods movement and tax compliance will be enabled, supported by AI-enhanced assessments. The government is collaborating with Turkey to meet international standards in system deployment following discussions between Shehbaz and the Turkish president during a recent visit to Azerbaijan. A Turkish delegation is currently in Pakistan to assist with implementation.
Senior officials at the meeting included federal ministers Ahsan Iqbal, Ataullah Tarar and Ali Pervaiz Malik; Minister of State for Finance Bilal Kayani, FBR Chairman Langrial and other key officials.
NNI adds: The meeting was informed that simplified digital tax returns will be launched from July 15 for salaried individuals and from July 30 for other taxpayers. Urdu-language returns for salaried individuals will also be available by July 30. The process of filling out the new simplified tax returns was explained in detail.
The meeting was also briefed about the progress of the cargo tracking system and e-bilty system.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
