ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to launch online monitoring of production in three major sectors for preventing tax evasion.
The FBR has decided to launch real-time monitoring of production by cement, sugar and fertilizer sectors in order to prevent tax evasion.
In this regard the FBR issued Invitation for Licence (IFL) for IT based solution for Electronic Monitoring (Trade and Trace System) of specified products i.e. cement, sugar and fertilizer.
The FBR said that the trade and trace system established, maintained and operated must enable FBR to monitor production activities and to generate real-time information volumes produced at the manufacturing sites, including verification data of collection of applicable taxes relating to specified goods produced.
The track and trace system must be able to provide FBR enforcement officials and delegated agencies with real-time information enabling them to monitor and control the movement of specified goods through the supply chain, including determination of the origin of the specified goods, as well as to determine their legal status.
Foreign specified goods imported into Pakistan will have unique identification markings, applicable for Pakistan, already affixed or printed at the point of manufacture outside of country. Similarly, any specified goods produced in Pakistan for export shall be required to carry unique identification markings for intended destination markets.
The licensee must guarantee to factor these requirements into the system to ensure readability for imported products and application for exported products as per Licensing Rules, 2019.
The FBR said that though Large Scale Manufacturing (LSM), being the major and comparatively documented sector of our economy, contributes a sizeable chunk of revenue yet the real tax potential of LSM segments like Cigarette, Cement, Sugar, Beverages etc is yet to be realized.
Currently across the globe Track and Trace technology offers the most feasible, reliable and straightforward solution.
With minimum human interface Track and Trace technology if implemented in a proper transparent manner it can; a) Safeguard the interest of revenue by mapping and capturing unregistered segment; b) Act as anti-tax fraud tool entailing visible increase in revenue and dis-incentivizing under declaration and; c) Ensure level playing field to all in the aforesaid sectors.
In order to prevent leakage of revenue, under-reporting of production and sales of specified goods and to ensure proper payment of duties/taxes on the manufacture and sale of specified goods, the FBR is mandated to licence the implementation of a track and trace system; which is to be developed, operated and maintained by the licensee for specified goods manufactured in and imported into Pakistan.
To this end, the FBR is inviting applications for grant of licence to be issued under the Sales Tax Rules, 2006 (as amended Vide 250(I)/2019 dated 26.02.2019 and SRO. 918(I)/2019 dated 7th August, 2019) for the development, maintenance and operation of track and trace system in accordance with the provisions of the rules and the instructions.
