PM Shehbaz directs FBR officials to hold monthly meetings with Karachi businesses

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed senior officials of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to visit Karachi during the first week of every month to engage directly with the business community. While chairing a high-level meeting on Wednesday to review ongoing tax reforms and the revenue authority’s performance, the Prime Minister emphasised that regular engagement is essential to resolve business concerns, improve tax compliance, and promote investments and exports.

Describing the business community as the ‘backbone of the national economy’,  the Prime Minister highlighted that the government’s primary objectives are to enhance the ease of doing business, make the tax system more transparent and simpler, and build taxpayer confidence. He directed the FBR to prioritise the legitimate concerns of taxpayers and officially recognise companies that comply with tax laws. PM Shehbaz added that Pakistan’s economy is on the path to stability, with the current year focused primarily on economic growth and expanding business activity.

During the session, FBR officials briefed the attendees on reform implementation and updated tax collection measures. They reported that track-and-trace production monitoring systems have been fully installed in the sugar, cement, tobacco, tiles, and fertiliser industries, with rollouts currently underway in the textile and beverage sectors.

According to the official briefing, these newly implemented monitoring systems have successfully generated significant additional tax revenue over the past year. The monitoring system generated an additional Rs42 billion in tax revenue from the sugar industry, Rs38 billion from the cement sector, and Rs15 billion from the beverages industry.

The review meeting was attended by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, Economic Affairs Minister Ahad Khan Cheema, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani, State Bank Governor Jameel Ahmad, and other senior government officials.