ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Monday issued urgent directives to take decisive action against tax evaders and defaulters, signaling a renewed crackdown on financial malfeasance in the country.
In a high-level meeting held in Islamabad on the implementation of a tracking and tracing system, the prime minister chaired discussions aimed at strengthening tax enforcement measures in various sectors of the economy.
The commission has been tasked to identify bottlenecks in the system and identify those responsible for tax evasion within a strict seven-day time frame, the media wing of the PM Office said in a press release.
The committee would be tasked with coming up with proposals to enforce an automatic tax system in factories and industries.
The meeting was attended by federal ministers including Muhammad Aurangzeb, Ahad Khan Cheema, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Jehanzaib Khan, Chairman FBR Malik Amjad Zubair Tiwana and other senior officials.
Prime Minister Shehbaz questioned why the scheme was still inactive, saying that it should have been operationalized in the last two years in the tobacco, sugar, cement and fertilizer sectors and that the scheme should be in place in other important sectors of the economy.
He said that all legal obstacles to the enforcement of the tracking and tracing system should be removed. The prime minister ordered that the system should be implemented on all production lines of cement plants, besides convening a comprehensive digital strategy plan and an automated tracking and tracing system.
He further ordered that all factories resisting the introduction of the tracking and tracing system should be sealed immediately. He expressed that in addition to generating revenue, the said system can also be used to identify fakes and low-quality products.
The prime minister called for an end to the circulation of fake and unregistered cigarettes and emphasized their destruction. He emphasized that the country is facing economic problems exacerbated by the leniency of mafia elements that are damaging the national economy. In addition, the Prime Minister emphasized that he is seeking help from international institutions in implementing a tracking and tracing system.
During the meeting, detailed information was provided on the challenges hindering the automated implementation of tracking and tracing system in the cement, sugar, fertilizer and tobacco sectors.
It was reported that out of 14 tobacco factories, the system was fully operational while 12 others were sealed for non-compliance. The system was fully operational in the fertilizer industry, but ran into problems in sugar factories and cement plants, which were solved for technical reasons.
In addition, the meeting was informed that raids were being carried out on warehouses across the country to combat smuggling. The Prime Minister directed the law enforcement agencies to support the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) in this endeavour.
