ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has chalked out a Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP) to engage stakeholders effectively during the life of various ongoing tax reform projects.

The FBR’s plan revealed that the FBR is undertaking the Pakistan Raises Revenue Project (PRRP) to upgrade FBR’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) across Pakistan.

The objective of the project is to contribute to a sustainable increase in domestic revenue by broadening the tax base and facilitating compliance. The project’s classification for social risks is moderate owing to the risks of exclusion and labour-related risks.

Environmental risks are classified as moderate pointing to the risks associated with e-waste management. Consequently, the overall environmental and social risks classification of the project is “moderate”. The PRRP is subdivided into two components.

The Component-1 includes the simplification of the tax administration framework to make procedures, more transparent and intelligible to taxpayers and tax administration staff. It also focuses on the implementation of risk-based inspections and Post-Clearance Audits (PCA) in Customs, the expansion of e-services for taxpayers and traders, and the institutional development of FBR for efficiency and accountability.

The Component-2 of PRRP targets the replacement of outdated ICT equipment from FBR offices across Pakistan. The intervention includes upgrading the high-capacity data warehouse to support big data analysis and integration of databases along with the replacement of equipment that has reached its useful life in the FBR’s data centres.

The ICT equipment to be replaced and provided through PRRP will include computers, printers, copiers, and scanners as well as networking components such as network switches, routers, and servers. Component 2 also has the provision of vehicle/container scanners under the Pakistan Customs Automated Entry-Exit System (AEES) to be installed at seaports and airports.

Following the World Bank ESSs and Environmental and Social Commitment Plan (ESCP), and ESS10, as well as national and provincial laws and Good International Industrial Practices (GIIP), the SEP is being finalised to engage stakeholders effectively during the life of the project.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023