ISLAMABAD, April 15, 2026 – Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday ordered immediate legal action against individuals involved in illegal over-invoicing practices, directing authorities to strengthen enforcement and accountability within Pakistan’s tax and financial monitoring system.
Chairing a high-level review meeting on the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Prime Minister Shehbaz expressed strong dissatisfaction over institutional failures to curb over-invoicing between 2017 and 2022, noting that relevant departments had shown “consistent negligence” in preventing large-scale revenue losses.
He instructed authorities to identify all officials responsible for negligence and accelerate departmental proceedings against them without delay. “Tax money is a trust of the nation; protecting it is our duty, and we are accountable for every single penny,” the prime minister said, calling for a comprehensive long-term strategy to prevent similar financial irregularities.
During the meeting, the findings of a special committee led by Mushtaq Ahmed Sukhera were presented. The prime minister appreciated the report and directed that its recommendations be implemented in full to strengthen governance and enforcement mechanisms.
Officials briefed the meeting that the FBR had developed a Centralized Price Verification Portal aimed at detecting and preventing over-invoicing in import transactions. The system, they said, would be integrated with banking channels by the end of June to improve real-time verification and financial tracking.
The meeting was informed that the FBR’s Post Clearance Audit Wing first identified the over-invoicing scheme in October 2022. So far, authorities have registered 13 First Information Reports (FIRs), while legal proceedings against those involved remain ongoing.
Shehbaz also directed that the Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU) be made more active and effective, with representation from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the Intelligence Bureau to enhance inter-agency coordination.
The meeting was attended by federal ministers Musadik Malik, Ahad Khan Cheema, Attaullah Tarar, Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan, Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani, the Chairman FBR, and senior government officials.