Apps developed to improve tax collection

LAHORE: Caretaker Minister for Excise and Taxation Bilal Afzal has said that Pakistanis pay taxes but the rate is very low as property tax rate in Punjab is only 0.1pc of the total potential of Punjab which is about Rs9trillion. However, with the help of modern technology, the tax net can be expanded, he said while addressing an event at a local hotel as a chief guest on Monday.

The event was held in connection with the handover of mobile applications developed for the collection of token tax and property tax in Punjab developed by British organisation Sub-National Governance (SNG) Programme under the Innovation Challenging Fund Programme for the Excise & Taxation Department Punjab.

Secretary Excise Masood Mukhtar, Director General Excise Muhammad Ali, Development Director FCDO (UK) Miss Jo Moir, Provincial Team Leader of SNG Usman Chaudhry and Lead Adviser to SNG Jehanzeb Awan were present. DG Excise Mohammad Ali signed an MoU with SNG team. Minister Bilal Afzal thanked the British government and SNG leadership for this support and said that tax collection will be better with digital apps. He said that with the help of these Apps, only the vehicles that do not pay token tax will be stopped at the blockades, thus the self-respect of the responsible citizens who pay the tax will not be harmed. Earlier, Miss Jo Moir while speaking said that Britain is supporting Punjab in the fields of education, health, governance and disaster management. She said that with this project, mutual relations between Britain and Pakistan will be further strengthened.

Excise Secretary Masood Mukhtar said that the government revenue will increase substantially by using the apps. He said that the HIPT app will help in identifying properties located on highways to bring them in the tax net. DG Muhammad Ali said that the ANPR app will read the number plate of the moving vehicle and immediately inform about the token tax status on which the defaulting vehicle will be stopped and challan would be issued on the spot. He said that this technology will increase the collection of tax and transparency and facilitate the excise staff in performing their duties. At the end of the ceremony, the provincial minister distributed certificates, shields and devices to the staff of the Excise & Taxation Department.