PM orders strict action against tax defaulters

LAHORE: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has directed authorities to bring tax defaulters into the tax net and take strict action against non-compliance.

He made these remarks while presiding over a crucial review meeting on strategies to enhance revenue collection on Saturday. During the meeting, officials briefed the prime minister on the installation and monitoring of video analytics in the sugar industry.

Highlighting the importance of technology, the prime minister said, “Improving the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) performance through technology is the government’s top priority.” He emphasized that the use of video analytics in the sugar industry would significantly improve revenue collection, eliminate hoarding and help stabilize prices. “Our utmost effort is to ensure the availability of sugar at affordable prices for the public,” he stated, directing regular monitoring of sugar stocks to maintain an uninterrupted supply chain. The prime minister also ordered stringent and indiscriminate action against tax evasion and under-reporting by sugar mills.

He underscored that ongoing measures for FBR’s digitization would bring billions of rupees in benefits to the national treasury. Additionally, the prime minister instructed the swift completion of FBR’s value chain digitization and called for rapid implementation of video analytics in cement and tobacco industries.

The meeting was attended by Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Khan Cheema, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, Minister of State for Finance Ali Pervaiz Malik, and senior government officials.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif took notice of the non-implementation of recommendations of the inquiry committee on the death of Pakistanis in the boat incident in Greece in 2023. An inquiry has been ordered in the context of the recent boat sinking incident in Greece. The prime minister has directed the three-member committee to review the implementation of recommendations of the inquiry committee set up in June 2023 and determine the responsibility of officers who did not implement it.

Chairman Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism (AML & CFT) Authority and former IG Police Mushtaq Ahmed Sukhira has been appointed as the chairman of the inquiry committee. The members include DG Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Destruction Authority Ehsan Ghani and Director (NCB-Interpol) FIA Malik Sikandar Hayat. The Prime Minister’s Office has also issued the Terms of Reference of the inquiry.

Meanwhile, the prime minister has constituted an 8-member committee under the chairmanship of Rana Sanaullah, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Inter-Departmental Liaison Division, on the issue of implementation of tax regime for the newly merged districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Other members of the committee include Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs Engineer Amir Muqam, Minister of State for Finance Ali Parwez Malik, FBR Chairman Rashid Mahmood Langriyal, Chief Secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, representative of Pakistan Association of Large Steel Production, representative of Pakistan Vanaspati Manufacturing Association and former president KPCCI Zahidullah Khan Shinwari.