One-man commission in its fact-finding report regarding 'smuggling of arms and ammunition' has recommended that a dedicated team of tax experts/software engineers may be deputed to ensure that all the goods declarations processed by WeBOC have all the automatic data exchange linkages with other computer systems of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
Sources told Business Recorder here on Wednesday that the former FBR Member Customs, Ramzan Bhatti has made valuable recommendations on improving the working of the WeBOC clearance system. Referring to the report, sources said that presently there are standalone computer systems for each tax to be collected by the FBR. Customs duties and other taxes which form about 40 percent of total taxes are realised through processing goods declarations under the "WeBOC Computer System" and One-Customs System," both developed by Pral. These two systems are neither dovetailed nor are the data mirrored on real time basis. All the vessels information reports (VIR) are electronically received by the WeBOC which processes about 90 percent of the goods declarations. The rest of the goods declarations are processed through the One-Customs. The commission has been informed that the WeBOC System has been audited by two different organisations but no audit reports were made available. Neither any follow-up action of audit reports was communicated.
The commission has studied the WeBOC System in short span of time and is of the view that Requirements Specification Document (RSD) needs to be reviewed by a team of tax experts with a view to making it a comprehensive system based on EDIFACT (Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce and Trade). A dedicated team of tax experts and software engineers may be deputed to ensure that all the goods declarations be processed by WeBOC with the facility of back and forth automatic linkages/exchange of data with the other computer software systems of the FBR. In the long run the FBR should have one integrated software system for all taxes with facility of real time exchange/tabulation of data with respect to all activities of a tax registered person, sources said.
Quoting the report of the commission, sources were of the view that the Project Director (WeBOC) works in solitary environment. He has neither been declared as masters of the programs nor assigned any password/user ID to oversee the development and actual working of the software. He has even no qualified software auditor to help him in ascertaining the efficacy of the developed and operational software. Instead, the Pral is left to develop and maintain the software. It is learnt that even Pral has no qualified software auditor to ensure that the software developed is comprehensive and meets all the requirements of the users. It is of considered opinion that Pral has failed in developing integrated software for the FBR, as no technical team of tax experts assist the Pral in developing the software. There is no online audit facility or management information system which generates alarms in cases of any meddling with system by the unscrupulous persons/users. There are no backward and forward linkages or automated transfer of data from one system to another systems, ie, from One-Customs/WeBOC to Crest of Sales Tax and Mahasil and newly created provincial revenue authorities. There is no evidence to find out that the computer software had ever pointed out the evasion/leakages of revenues. The experience shared by the users was that each time Pral come up with different information on the same subject whenever inquires are made, sources added.
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