ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) will automate the entire process of collection and depositing of tax by withholding agents.

According to the FBR’s new reform plan on withholding taxes, the information will be trackable and cross-verifiable, thereby improving the monitoring of the withholding tax collection. A multipronged approach will be adopted to address the needs of the various types of withholding agents. The entire process of collection and depositing of tax by withholding agents will be fully automated.

The FBR will reduce the distortions caused by withholding tax. All the withholding taxes will be reviewed to determine the distortions caused by the withholding of income tax, and adjustments will be made to eliminate these distortions. This will be accomplished by making adjustments that ensure that all the withholding tax collected is either claimed in the return filed against tax demand or is refunded.

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The FBR will also develop a data management and analytics system that can generate real-time statistics for operations, exceptions, warnings, and errors for all operational systems. In addition to customized information about returns, assets and withholding declarations, registration, arrears, and payments, the system will provide a comprehensive 360-degree view of a taxpayer,

The FBR focus will be on integrating our systems to support tax administration and improve our business processes. The FBR We review how new technology developments are developed and implemented; upgrade data centers; and, automate the withholding tax collection process, the FBR added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022