FBR distributes Rs54mn in 9th draw of POS prize scheme

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) distributed a total of Rs54 million among 1,017 lucky draw winners under 9th computerised ballot of its Point of Sale (POS) invoicing prize scheme held in Multan on Thursday.

Out of Rs54 million disbursed, Rs1 million was contributed by Metro Pakistan, with Rs100,000 each for 10 winners. All the winners were selected through a transparent computerised balloting process, held live before the national media, FBR said.

Senior officials, local trader community, and representatives of media were present at the prize ceremony, where Sardar Ali Khawaja, member public relations, FBR was the chief guest.

Addressing on the occasion, Khawaja underlined importance of depositing due sales tax by retailers in state exchequer. He urged upon the trader community to become part of POS scheme by integrating with the FBR’s automated system and contribute to country’s growth and prosperity with enhanced tax collection.

Khuwaja emphasised that shoppers should ask for a receipt after doing shopping from tier-1 outlets to ensure that their sales tax was deposited into the state exchequer.

He stated that the FBR was making endeavours to bridge trust deficit between traders and tax authorities in order to maximise tax compliance. Khuwaja apprised that FBR chairman Asim Ahmad had held rounds of discussions with the trader community to thrash out a mutually acceptable way forward over tax collection mechanism.

Addressing the local business community, the chief guest noted that registration ratio of retailers was very less in Multan region, and encouraged them to integrate with the FBR POS system as part of their national duty.

Earlier in his welcome note, chief commissioner RTO, Multan, Abid Mehmood said the regional tax office was undertaking measures to bring more tier-1 retailers under POS scheme. I that regard, regular meetings were being held with the retailers, he informed.

Mehmood was of the view that POS was a unique scheme and its effective implementation would further enhance revenue collection.

Prior to the ninth round, the board has organised eight computerised ballots of POS prize scheme during the current year.

According to FBR, the POS scheme to attract taxpayers and top Tier-1 retailers is progressing successfully, as the number of verified invoices is increasing with each passing month.

During the event, video clips of winners of last month’s prize scheme were also aired wherein they appreciated FBR for launching the innovative POS lucky draw scheme.