ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday directed the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to expand its Point of Sale (POS) system across the retail sector in an effort to plug revenue leakages and document more of the cash-driven economy.
Pakistan has undertaken a series of tax reforms in recent years under successive International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan programs, focusing on digitization and expansion of the taxpayer base to improve revenue collection and reduce reliance on external financing.
The POS system is part of this broader effort, aiming to improve compliance and transparency in a country where large segments of the retail economy operate informally, often escaping documentation and taxation.
The POS system, which digitally links cash registers at retail outlets with the FBR’s central database, allows real-time monitoring of sales and automated calculation of sales tax, reducing underreporting and tax evasion.
“The FBR must widen the scope of its Point of Sale system in retail,” Sharif said at a review meeting on tax reforms. “The production processes of all industries, including tax defaulters, should be digitized to bring them into the tax net.”
During the meeting, Sharif praised the FBR and the finance ministry for a 42 percent increase in federal tax revenues in the last fiscal year, saying it was the highest in a decade.
Officials briefed the prime minister that Rs865 billion ($3.03 billion) in additional revenue had been collected during the previous fiscal year, owing to stronger enforcement and digitization. The tax-to-GDP ratio also rose to 11.3 percent, up 1.5 percentage points from FY24.
Addressing the participants of the meeting, Sharif emphasized the need for respectful treatment of taxpayers.
“The FBR must treat the public with respect and dignity while fulfilling its duties,” he said. “No negligence in achieving economic targets will be tolerated for the sake of Pakistan’s bright economic future.”
Sharif instructed the FBR to extend the Track and Trace Digital Production System to monitor goods from production to delivery.
Officials informed him that the system has already been implemented in the sugar, tobacco and fertilizer sectors, and will soon cover cement and other industries.
“All institutions must work with full dedication to meet the new fiscal year’s targets. Any complacency will not be tolerated,” the prime minister warned, adding that he is personally monitoring all revenue-related progress.
Pakistan PM orders wider POS rollout after $3 billion tax surge to sustain reform momentum
https://arab.news/vpsxt
Pakistan PM orders wider POS rollout after $3 billion tax surge to sustain reform momentum
- The prime minister directs the FBR to treat taxpayers with respect as tax-to-GDP ratio climbs to 11.3 percent
- Officials say Track and Trace system in place for sugar, tobacco and fertilizer sectors, will be expanded
Sindh assembly passes resolution rejecting move to separate Karachi
- Chief Minister Shah cites constitutional safeguards against altering provincial boundaries
- Calls to separate Karachi intensified amid governance concerns after a mall fire last month
ISLAMABAD: The provincial assembly of Pakistan’s southern Sindh province on Saturday passed a resolution rejecting any move to separate Karachi, declaring its territorial integrity “non-negotiable” amid political calls to carve the city out as a separate administrative unit.
The resolution comes after fresh demands by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and other voices to grant Karachi provincial or federal status following governance challenges highlighted by the deadly Gul Plaza fire earlier this year that killed 80 people.
Karachi, Pakistan’s largest and most densely populated city, is the country’s main commercial hub and contributes a significant share to the national economy.
Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah tabled the resolution in the assembly, condemning what he described as “divisive statements” about breaking up Sindh or detaching Karachi.
“The province that played a foundational role in the creation of Pakistan cannot allow the fragmentation of its own historic homeland,” Shah told lawmakers, adding that any attempt to divide Sindh or separate Karachi was contrary to the constitution and democratic norms.
Citing Article 239 of Pakistan’s 1973 Constitution, which requires the consent of not less than two-thirds of a provincial assembly to alter provincial boundaries, Shah said any such move could not proceed without the assembly’s approval.
“If any such move is attempted, it is this Assembly — by a two-thirds majority — that will decide,” he said.
The resolution reaffirmed that Karachi would “forever remain” an integral part of Sindh and directed the provincial government to forward the motion to the president, prime minister and parliamentary leadership for record.
Shah said the resolution was not aimed at anyone but referred to the shifting stance of MQM in the debate while warning that opposing the resolution would amount to supporting the division of Sindh.
The party has been a major political force in Karachi with a significant vote bank in the city and has frequently criticized Shah’s provincial administration over its governance of Pakistan’s largest metropolis.
Taha Ahmed Khan, a senior MQM leader, acknowledged that his party had “presented its demand openly on television channels with clear and logical arguments” to separate Karachi from Sindh.
“It is a purely constitutional debate,” he told Arab News by phone. “We are aware that the Pakistan Peoples Party, which rules the province, holds a two-thirds majority and that a new province cannot be created at this stage. But that does not mean new provinces can never be formed.”
Calls to alter Karachi’s status have periodically surfaced amid longstanding complaints over governance, infrastructure and administrative control in the megacity, though no formal proposal to redraw provincial boundaries has been introduced at the federal level.
