Online payment system launched for taxpayers

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday launched an online tax payment system to enable taxpayers to digitally discharge their obligations – a facility that aims at improving efficiency, safety and transparency.

“Taxpayers under universal self assessment scheme would not be allowed to misuse (the system) as information technology would be used to facilitate taxpayers,” Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Revenue Haroon Akhtar Khan said, starting on the system.

Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), in collaboration with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and online interbank network 1-Link, launched the facility to facilitate payment of federal taxes, including income and sales taxes, customs duty and federal excise duty through alternate delivery channels, including automated teller machine, online and phone banking and call centres. Through the system, taxpayers could digitally pay their taxes from home or office 24-hour a day, seven days a week. They could also pay from outside Pakistan using their online bank accounts.

Khan said the system provides a much-needed relief and convenience to taxpayers. He hoped that the business community would take advantage of the system and pay bulk of their taxes and duties using the online facility. “As the system provides end-to-end solution right from filing of the tax returns to payment of taxes to recording in government books of accounts it will bring efficiency, safety and transparency in government tax collection system.”

PM special assistant added that the system will be instrumental in improving Pakistan’s ranking in the World Bank’s ease of doing business index.

Governor Tariq Bajwa of SBP said the facility has three major benefits: taxpayers’ facilitation, reduction in the time lapse between payment of taxes and its reporting, and instant reconciliation of tax payments. “These three benefits will improve the efficiency of FBR.”

Bajwa said the project is in line with the ‘SBP Vision 2020’, which envisages development of the robust payment system. With government receipts and payments being the largest components of the country’s payment system, “the online collection of taxes will have a huge positive impact on the payment system’s efficiency and effectiveness”.

He added that the SBP is also working with the provincial governments to extend the coverage of online tax collection system to the provincial taxes and receipts as well. “SBP would work with AGPR (Accountant General Pakistan Revenues) and other stakeholders to eliminate cheques from government payments and shift to the direct credit system.”

SBP Governor said digital payments are taking over the cash payments with the passage of time. FBR should also explore other avenues of facilitation to the taxpayers and maximise use of digital technology, he added.

Tariq Mehmood Pasha, chairman of FBR said the project is the result of an effective collaboration between FBR and SBP and “will go a long way in improving the government tax collection system”.

“Taxpayers’ facilitation is the core objective of the online collection system,” Pasha said. “Taxpayers and business community paying taxes online would be able to have confirmation of their tax payments on real time basis (while) importers will be able to get their goods released immediately after payment of the taxes and duties.”

FBR chief said online tax collection system will run in parallel with the cash/pay order-based system and the taxpayers will have an option to use the system of their respective choice and preference for tax payment.

Taxpayers/importers just need to fill their tax and custom duty payment details in FBR online portals: IRIS or Web-based One Customs to generate payment slip ID (PSID), which will be used to access the tax/duty payment details on the banks’ webpage or ATM. A taxpayer or his/her agent will then pay the tax by debiting his/her bank account for onward credit to a concerned government account in SBP. The whole process is online and fully automated.

The system will get the taxpayers rid of visiting designated branches of SBP and National Bank of Pakistan during working hours and standing in long queues to pay their taxes.