Terms of reference devised for retailers’ POS integration

ISLAMABAD: The government has formulated terms of reference (TORs) for integration of retailers into the point of sales (POS) system of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), officials said on Monday.

Member (IT) FBR told a steering committee meeting that the TORs were formulated in consultation with key stakeholders including representatives from the private sector to have a proper system of check and balance in place.

The meeting was presided over by Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin to review progress on broadening of tax base and integration of retailers into POS systems by the FBR.

Reviewing the progress of the steering committee, the finance minister said limited tax base is one of the key challenges and the government is firmly committed to expand the tax base to enhance revenues exponentially. He commended the efforts made by the members of the steering committee on the occasion.

“The government has incentivised the retailers by giving tax credit on electronic cash registers during the new budget 2021/22. The underlying rationale is to give incentives to the taxpayers

in order to broaden the tax base and at the same time, reiterated to take stern action against tax evaders who are not willing to be part of the tax net,” he said. The minister urged the FBR to strictly adhere to timelines and benchmarks and follow up the whole exercise for broadening the tax base on a regular basis.

The way forward requires use of new technologies, analytical tools and end-to-end automation to broaden the tax base by integrating all the chains/outlets into the FBR system.

The minister further directed to gather data by undertaking interim measures such as mystery shopping exercises to identify anomalies as well as adding new entrants into the system to yield efficient results.

POS integration timelines have been extended a number of times in a couple of years. Now, the government devised a new comprehensive strategy to broaden the tax base.

IT firms are expected to install the systems by next month to connect sales records of retailers with the FBR on a real-time basis. In the first phase, retailers of tier-1 were asked for POS integration. With large sales volume and digital capabilities, many of them have integrated the POS.