Tax Policy Office separated from FBR

ISLAMABAD: To meet the IMF terms, the federal cabinet has approved separation of the Tax Policy Office from the FBR, which will now be established at the Ministry of Finance.

The government has separated FBR’s policy wing from the operations agreed with the IMF and placed it in the Ministry of Finance. However, this process will take a few months so the placement of Policy Wing in the Ministry of Finance could become operational from the next fiscal year 2025-26.

After getting approval from the federal cabinet, the Ministry of Finance has issued a notification on Tuesday.

According to the notification, the Tax Policy Office will lend support to the analysis of tax policies and proposals through data modeling, revenue and economic forecasting as well as the country’s international tax treaties and obligations.

The Tax Policy Office will report directly to the Minister for Finance. The staffing to the said office as approved by the federal cabinet, shall be undertaken with the approval of Establishment Division and Finance Division as per terms and conditions prescribed by the government.

The responsibilities and structure of the TPO may be amended as deemed necessary for its optimal functioning with the approval of the federal cabinet.

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has conveyed to business community that the government has decided to move the tax policy unit out of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and house it within the Ministry of Finance for tax policy budget preparations.