Green Cabinet Repair, FBR Digital Transformation

Islamabad:

In a meeting held on Tuesday, the Federal Cabinet approved the restructuring and digitization of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), based on the recommendations of the Department of Revenue.

Chaired by caretaker prime minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar, the meeting considered the proposals of an inter-ministerial committee that met on January 23, headed by the caretaker finance minister.

Important amendments were made during the previous meeting, after a comprehensive discussion. The updated summary was presented at the current Cabinet meeting, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.

As part of the approved reforms, a Federal Tax Policy Council will be established within the Department of Revenue, responsible for developing tax policies, setting revenue targets and promoting coordination among stakeholders. The federal finance minister will head this policy board.

According to the new framework, the Customs and Internal Revenue departments will be separated and will operate under special general managers in their respective executives. These officials will have full authority over administrative, financial and operational matters. Both departments are tasked with digitizing their operations and implementing globally recognized practices for transparency and grievance redressal.

Also Read: IRS appeals to ECP to restructure FBR

Separate supervisory boards will be constituted for these departments, consisting of federal secretaries from the ministries of finance, revenue, commerce, the chairman of NADRA and relevant experts, with the Finance Minister as the head of these boards.

The prime minister stressed the need to avoid conflicts of interest when appointing private sector experts. He also ordered that a plan, based on the ministerial committee’s reform recommendations, be presented for the necessary legislation and approval at the next session of the newly elected parliament.

During the meeting, the caretaker prime minister and the cabinet members lauded the unremitting efforts of the ministers, the chairman of the FBR and other relevant authorities for formulating these reforms.

Further, the meeting approved decisions taken on January 26 by the Cabinet Committee on Legal Affairs, but postponed the amendments proposed by the Ministry of Water Resources on the IRSA Act, 1992. It directed that the amendments be tabled again in the next meeting of cabinet after thorough discussion.