ISLAMABAD, November 1, 2024 – The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Pakistan’s tax regulator, has launched an advanced Stock Register system to enhance tax administration and increase revenue collection, amid efforts to curb tax evasion worth billions of rupees.
This new system is part of Pakistan’s ongoing drive to meet a challenging tax revenue target of Rs13 trillion ($46.66 billion) for the fiscal year beginning July 1—a nearly 40 percent increase from the previous year. Last year, Pakistan narrowly avoided economic default, facing challenges from political instability, the impact of the 2022 floods, and decades of economic mismanagement. Emergency loans from friendly countries and a $3 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) provided temporary relief.
To address these issues, Islamabad has initiated institutional reforms, including the digitization of the FBR, to stabilize the economy as Pakistan faces shrinking foreign reserves, high inflation, and mounting public debt.
The FBR described its new digital infrastructure as a tool that provides tax officers with real-time, comprehensive access to registered taxpayer data, enhancing transparency and compliance with Income Tax (IT) and Sales Tax (ST) regulations. The Stock Register system functions as an advanced information and reporting tool, empowering tax officers to make accurate tax assessments and reduce tax evasion risk.
In addition, the FBR launched the Information Center 2.0 portal, aimed at improving resource management and compliance. “Accessible exclusively through the IRIS platform, Information Center 2.0 offers advanced filters and search functionalities for efficient data retrieval and accurate assessments,” the FBR noted on social media platform X.
“These developments mark a pivotal advancement in tax collection, supporting robust reporting, minimizing tax evasion, and strengthening financial management through a centralized data system,” the FBR stated.
Following its narrow avoidance of default, Pakistan also reached an agreement with the IMF for a $7 billion loan and is focusing on expanding trade and investment to stabilize its $350 billion economy.
