FBR devises new revenue reporting system

The Federal Board of Revenue has devised a new performance reporting system of the Large Taxpayer Units (LTUs) and Regional Tax Offices (RTOs) to regularly update Advisor to the Prime Minister on Finance, Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh on the revenue collected by each unit to ensure meeting of the revenue collection target of Rs 1,952 billion for 2011-12.
Sources told Business Recorder here on Tuesday that Federal Board of Revenue Chairman Mumtaz Haider Rizvi has taken this initiative to introduce an internal system in the tax machinery for compilation of daily updates on the performance of field units for reporting to Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh.
This is a first of its kind of revenue reporting system to distinguish performance of each field unit of the FBR for guidance of the policy makers. Under the new system, the FBR would ensure that daily collection of each RTO and LTU should be reported to the Advisor to the Prime Minister on Finance.
This would give a clear picture to the Ministry of Finance about the enforcement and administrative measures taken by the Large Taxpayer Units (LTUs) and Regional Tax Offices (RTOs) on daily basis for increasing pace of revenue collection. The new revenue reporting system of the FBR for Finance Minister would also enable the policy makers to issue instructions or guidelines to the FBR at any stage whenever required in policy and enforcement issues, sources added.
During the last Board-in-Council meeting of the FBR, Chairman FBR apprised the Board that the Finance Minister desires to have very frequent updates on the performance of the field units especially revenue collection. The matter was discussed and it was decided that all the field units shall communicate their performance parameters to the respective Members and the same will be submitted to the Finance Minister in a consolidated manner on fortnightly basis. For the purpose, an officer at FBR (HQ) should be nominated/posted to undertake this responsibility, decision of the Board-in-Council added.
Sources said that the revenue collection of the FBR stood at Rs 975 billion during July-January (2011-12) as compared to Rs 770 billion collected during the corresponding period of last fiscal, reflecting a growth of 27 percent. The day and night efforts of the FBR team of tax mangers particularly Shahid Hussain Asad FBR Member Inland Revenue (IR) has enabled the tax machinery to successfully chase the ambitious target of Rs 1952 billion for 2011-12.