The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has successfully held the fifth computerized ballot for points of sale (POS) Invoicing Prize Scheme in a ceremony held in Lahore.
In addition to 1,007 lucky winners winning prizes worth Rs53 million, another 10 individuals won prize of Rs100,000 each sponsored by Metro Stores Pakistan for its valued customers.
This has taken the list of winners to 1017, winning total prizes worth Rs54 million.
Hosted by the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), it is the first computerized ballot organized out of the FBR Headquarters in Islamabad.
This unique monthly luck draw will now be organized in major cities across Pakistan to engage with all relevant stakeholders, mobilize public participation and, thus, maximize tax compliance by the retail sector.
In his welcome note, FPCCI President Irfan Iqbal Sheikh assured the FBR of his cooperation and hoped that the business community will support the bureau in collecting due taxes from across Pakistan.
He hailed the POS as a unique digital intervention made by the FBR to automate business processes and promote digitization in the tax system.
Sardar Ali Khawaja, member public relations (FBR), thanked the FPCCI for hosting the 5th POS computerised ballot and highlighted the pivotal role of such meaningful synergies in bridging the trust deficit between the FBR and taxpayers.
Speaking on the occasion as chief guest, Member Operations Inland Revenue Qaisar Iqbal said that the FBR had been vigorously pursuing its drive for digitization, transparency, and automation not only to document the economy but also to plug revenue leakages through a transparent tax system for the past few years.
He added that the FBR will continue maximizing tax compliance through various innovative initiatives, including the POS Invoicing Prize Scheme.
The ceremony was attended by senior FBR officers, notable businessmen, FPCCI office-bearers and representatives of electronic and print media.
The innovative prize scheme was launched to digitally monitor the sales made by tier-1 retailers across Pakistan to ensure that tax collected from customers was duly deposited into the state exchequer, he emphasized.
In April 2022, over 370, 000 invoices were verified by around 48,000 customers, who shopped from outlets integrated with the FBR POS System. Likewise, over 48 million invoices were issued in April by tier-1 retailers, which are integrated with the FBR POS System.
“This is a phenomenal increase in public participation and is likely to grow further with every passing day,” Iqbal said.
Furthermore, the FBR had distributed prizes worth Rs212 million among 4,028 lucky winners during four computerized ballots held in a transparent manner.
Most of the fortunate winners have already got the prize money transferred into their bank accounts after due diligence and necessary verification process.
It is worth sharing that the people are showing interest in becoming part of the computerized draw, which is being regularly held on the 15th of every month in the presence of mainstream national media to ensure transparency.
