The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has decided to launch Consumer Lucky Draw Scheme in January 2011 in all major cities including Karachi, Lahore, Sialkot, Faisalabad and Islamabad with monthly prizes of Rs 6 million to encourage documentation in the country.
Sources told Business Recorder here Wednesday that the FBR Chairman Sohail Ahmad highlighted the importance of the Consumer Lucky Draw Scheme during last Board-in-Council meeting in the light of the directions given by the present as well as the former finance minister.
Tax authorities said that the scheme is initially for hotels and restaurants but extendable to bakeries and caterers. This scheme is initially for bigger cities like Karachi, Multan, Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Sialkot and Peshawar. Later on it may be extended to other cities as well.
This scheme envisages various prizes with maximum and minimum individual prizes of Rs 100,000 and Rs 5,000 respectively, in the descending quantum but ascending number of about 350 prizes, would be worth Rs 6.0 million per month. These prizes will be awarded through balloting to those consumers of the hotels/restaurants who produce the original invoices of their payments to these hotels/restaurants. Initially this scheme is only for the registered hotels/restaurants. Later invoices and receipts obtained from bakeries and caterers would be considered for the draw to attract consumers.
FBR Chairman apprised FBR Members of the constitution of the steering committee for this scheme. Members of the Board had detailed deliberations on the various aspects of the scheme. Based on other discussions, the scheme was approved as a concept by the Board-in-Council with the following further decisions:
Firstly, a Secretary of the steering committee may be nominated for the coordination of all proceedings. Secondly, the draft rules of the scheme may be vetted by FBR Member (Legal), FBR to ensure that there is no legal lacunae or deficiencies therein. Thirdly, a backward critical path working needs to be done to ensure that the scheme is launched in January, 2011. Fourthly, the amount and number of prizes may be reviewed and made more rational. Fifthly, the proceedings of the steering committee should be constantly placed before the FBR Chairman for his review.