Islamabad, October 20, 2023 – The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) took a significant step on Friday by constituting a dedicated committee tasked with the design, development, and implementation of a single portal for the filing of sales tax returns across various jurisdictions.
In a statement released by the FBR, it was announced that the newly formed committee consists of FBR officers and technical experts from the Pakistan Revenue Automation Limited (PRAL) and will commence its work immediately.
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The initiative to create a single portal for sales tax return filing has seen a successful pilot run with the Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) in the telecom sector. The FBR is now gearing up for the next phase, which involves expanding the pilot project and developing the portal for use in collaboration with the remaining provinces.
The committee comprises the following officers, divided into three key teams:
I. Supervisory Team
1. Ardsher Saleem Tariq (IRS/BS-20), Member (Reforms and Modernization), FBR
2. Dr. Nasir Khan (IRS/BS-21), Member (Information Technology), FBR
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3. Aamer Amin Bhatt (IRS/BS-20), Chief (Provincial Taxes), FBR.
II. Implementation Team
1. Zain-ul-Abidin Sahi (IRS/BS-20), Chief (IT System), FBR (Chairperson)
2. Ms. Mahwish Khan (IRS/BS-18), Second Secretary (Business Processing Reengineering), FBR (Member)
3. Faisal Sulaiman, Senior Business Analyst, PRAL (Member)
4. Ms. Farheen Azhar, Senior Manager (Commercial Projects) PRAL (Member)
5. Shahid Sharif, Manager (Development), PRAL (Member)
III. Coordination and Support
1. Muhammad Khalid Jamil (IRS/BS-20), Director Program (PRRP), FBR
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2. Ms. Sadia Akmal (IRS/BS-19), Additional Director (Coordination and Internal Communication PRRP), FBR
The FBR emphasized that the committee is authorized to seek additional resources from both FBR and PRAL for consultation with various stakeholders, including Provincial Revenue Authorities (PRAs), as needed.
The primary objectives and timeline for the committee’s work are as follows:
• Develop a single portal for filing sales tax returns for FBR and the Punjab Revenue Authority in the telecom sector by October 31, 2023.
• Complete the overall development of a single portal for all authorities and sectors by May 31, 2024.
The committee’s Terms of Reference (TORs) include:
i. Designing and overseeing the development of a pilot single portal for filing sales tax returns for FBR and the Punjab for the telecom sector, including managing the transition and launch of the single portal.
ii. Designing and supervising the development of a single portal for filing sales tax returns for FBR and all PRAs in the telecom sector.
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iii. Designing and supervising the development of a single portal for filing sales tax returns for FBR and all PRAs across all sectors.
iv. Conducting consultations with stakeholders, including taxpayer representatives and field formations of the FBR and PRAs, to address their concerns in the single portal.
v. Overseeing software development by PRAL, User Acceptance Testing (UAT) by PRAs and taxpayers, and facilitating the transition from existing sales tax return systems to the single portal.
vi. Managing the transition from the existing system of filing sales tax returns.
This strategic move is expected to streamline and modernize the sales tax return filing process, making it more efficient and user-friendly for taxpayers and authorities alike.
