The number of invoices verified by customers who shopped at big retail outlets integrated with the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) point-of-sale (PoS) system has jumped to 249,000 in February, significantly up from 153,000 in January 2022.
Around 38 million invoices were issued by Tier-1 Retailers which are integrated with the FBR PoS system in February as compared to 37 million in January 2022. The number of customers who successfully verified their invoices also jumped from 27,000 in January to around 39,000 in February. This is a phenomenal increase in public participation and is likely to further grow.
Amongst various innovative digital interventions made by FBR to maximize tax compliance through automation of its operations and facilitation of taxpayers, the point-of-sale system is one key initiative that aims to monitor sales made by Tier-1 Retailers across Pakistan.
Adding value to this critically important sector and plug revenue leakages, FBR has launched an aggressive awareness campaign on the mainstream national media to educate and engage consumers to ensure that tax collected from them at the point of sale is deposited into the state exchequer and not pocketed by the retailers themselves.
The campaign also encompasses a prize scheme worth Rs. 53 million to be disbursed among 1007 lucky winners through a transparent computerized ballot to be held on the 15th of every month. FBR has already distributed prizes worth Rs. 106 million among 2014 lucky winners in two successive computerized ballots held in the past two months. The next computerized draw will be held on March 15, 2022
In its ongoing country-wide awareness campaign, FBR has appealed to Pakistani citizens to actively promote a culture of tax compliance in the country. FBR has proposed that people should shop only from those Tier-1 retail outlets which are integrated with the FBR PoS system, demand computerized invoices (Pakki Receipt), and finally verify the same through FBR Tax Asaan App.
Furthermore, as a result of strong enforcement by FBR’s field formations across Pakistan, out of around 4,200 identified as Tier-1 Retailers, over 3,600 have already integrated their business operations with the FBR PoS system. Their 17,000 outlets with over 19,500 cash counters are fully integrated with the PoS system which lends FBR the facility to digitally monitor their sales and thus ensure that Sales Tax being collected from customers is being actually deposited into the state exchequer, without fail.
Source: Pro Pakistani