ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Chairman Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Amjed Zubair Tiwana has said that the FBR is working closely with all the stakeholders on the digitalization initiative and making tax administration more broad-based.
Talking to the Vice President of World Bank Martin Raiser who visited the FBR Headquarters in Islamabad on Wednesday, Amjed Zubair Tiwana said that digitalization is not only important for revenue but for enabling FBR to make informed decisions for sustainable increase in the revenues.
Martin Riser echoed the sentiments of the Chairman FBR and indicated that World Bank sees the current digitalization drive as an opportunity to strengthen its cooperation with the FBR.
During the meeting, Martin Riser was accompanied by the Country Director Najy Benhassine, Operations Manager Gailius J Draugelis, Lead Country Economist Tobias Akhtar Haque, and Public Sector Specialist Irum Touqeer.
The Member (Reforms and Modernization) Ardsher Saleem Tariq and Member (Digital Initiative) Karamatullah Khan Chaudhry also attended the meeting.
In the meeting, a detailed presentation on the FBR and its reforms agenda was made with special focus on initiatives under Pakistan Raises Revenue Project for Harmonization of Sales Tax, Track & Trace System, and improving ICT capacities of FBR.
The Vice President of the World Bank Martin Raiser was appreciative of the FBR’s policy for digitalized tax administration and emphasized that these initiatives will bear even greater fruits if coupled with elimination of exemptions overtime through a combination of social assistance and introduction of sales tax based on consumption.