FBR’s generosity for importers  

August 8, 2026

The Senate Sub Committee has once again put the Federal Board of Revenue in an uncomfortable spot, and rightly so. FBR has failed to explain what happened to Rs1120 billion worth of tax exempted imports that entered former FATA and PATA regions between 2018 and 2026. That is not a small sum. It is a number large enough to demand answers, not silence.

Why has FBR not provided complete records? Why is a manual tracking system still in place for imports worth over a trillion rupees? These are basic questions, yet the Board seems unable or unwilling to answer them. Every day without proper automated verification is a day that opens the door to goods slipping illegally into taxable markets, undercutting honest businesses and draining public revenue.

The tobacco sector adds another layer of concern. Major companies like Pakistan Tobacco Company and Philip Morris Pakistan Limited are now under scrutiny, alongside serious cases of cigarette theft and a tax charge sheet against a senior tax official. When 2,828 cigarette cartons worth Rs25 crore go missing from an FBR warehouse, it raises a simple question: who is minding the store?

FBR must stop treating Parliament’s demands as optional. Consumption certificates, tax records, and clear Standard Operating Procedures are not favours to be delayed. They are basic obligations of an institution meant to protect national revenue.

Senator Saifullah Abro’s Committee deserves credit for pushing this issue repeatedly. But pressure from one Senate committee cannot substitute for real reform inside FBR. The Board must answer, and answer now, before more billions disappear into the gaps of its own negligence.