Revenue board initiates third-party forensic audit of PRAL

KARACHI: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has decided to conduct forensic audit of Pakistan Revenue Automation (Pvt) Limited (PRAL) to improve efficiency of the information system, sources said on Friday.

The sources said the detailed audit of PRAL would be conducted through independent auditors in information and computer technology (ICT) sector.

PRAL is a private limited company and 100 percent owned by the FBR. The company has been providing services since 1994 and besides FBR it also provides services to the provincial revenue authorities.

Presently, the PRAL is providing services, including development of new software system, maintenance of existing system and application at various locations of FBR throughout the country. The sources said previously the system audit of PRAL was conducted in 2013. Later, the World Bank conducted system analysis of PRAL’s various systems and applications, including IRIS, web-based one customs (WeBOC), sales tax real-time invoice verification in 2016. The responsibilities of PRAL include protecting information from disclosure to unauthorised parties and data confidentiality, integrity and their availability to FBR operations. The FBR developed ICT system for e-filing of income tax returns and WeBOC for electronic cargo clearing. The initiatives were taken to enhance trade facilitation and ease doing of business.

“In order to ensure the reliability and efficiency of the system in place the FBR decided to conduct detailed automated data processing audit of PRAL,” a FBR official said.

The official said PRAL is the technical service provider to FBR and it doesn’t have its own IT-infrastructure. “It is utilising FBR’s data centers, servers and storage to provide services,” the official added. The official said the audit would identify leakages, excesses or wastages. Besides, audit will also cover relation between FBR and PRAL and point out loopholes in services such as remuneration and agreed standards of delivery.

The official said the FBR gathered huge data of potential taxpayers and through the audit it would be identified that whether or not all database is appropriately documented.

In the past, the PRAL was under severe criticism for systematic loopholes. Sources in Regional Tax Office said issuance of sales tax refunds remain a big issue and it was detected that some claimant received refunds earlier than those who applied under first-come-first-out. The sources said the return filing software faced immense issues causing hardship for taxpayers in the past.