Islamabad: The provinces have asked to be represented in the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Board-In-Council and Pakistan Revenue Automation Limited (PRAL), according to news sources.
They have also requested that the previously-held joint meeting’s agreement, to appoint the chairmen of the provincial revenue authorities as members of the PRAL’s board and ex-officio members of the FBR Board-In-Council, be enforced as well. This request was sent in the form of a dispatch, which also included the provision for the introduction of a single portal for taxpayers.
Please note that FBR and provincial revenue departments held a meeting to address the provinces’ concerns over the memorandum of understanding (MoU) regarding the establishment of a single portal for filing tax returns and registration. The provincial authorities maintained that the minutes of the meeting they received, had no mention of this agreement.
The sources report that a unified portal for filing returns is one of the primary conditions under the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s USD 6 billion loan to Pakistan. Such a platform also stands to improve the ease of doing business and boost the country’s international financial ranking.
At present, taxpayers have to file five different returns, as FBR collects sales tax on goods and provincial revenue offices collect tax on services. The FBR shares the tax collected with the provinces under the National Finance Commission formula. The portal will enable the tax filers to select their revenue board and file all their taxes through the same platform.
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