ISLAMABAD  -  In line with the vision of the Prime Minister to transform Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) into a digital tax ad­ministration, FBR has entered into an agreement with Karandaaz Pakistan for the digitalization of tax system.

FBR has put considerable focus towards automation of its process­es and digitalizing of the economy. These initiatives reduce the cost of compliance of taxpayers, document the economy, expand the tax base and lead FBR on a sustainable path to revenue growth. FBR will be collabo­rating with Karandaaz for developing a comprehensive digital strategy for realizing the digital transformation of FBR, its digitalization initiatives and their implementation. Under this agreement, Karandaaz Pakistan, an impact investment platform that drives sustainable economic growth and strengthens financial and social protection systems for inclusion will assist FBR in assessment of the busi­ness needs, existing IT infrastructure and systems, and business processes to establish the context and scope for digitalizing the tax system of Paki­stan using service oriented and tax payer centric use cases.

At the signing ceremony, Malik Am­jed Zubair Tiwana, Chairman FBR, stated that FBR has put considerable focus towards automation of its pro­cesses and digitalizing the economy including the supply chain digitaliza­tion. Multiple endeavours have been undertaken to address the challenge of the undocumented economy and expanding the tax base. FBR will now be collaborating with Karandaaz for realizing the digital transformation of FBR, its digitalization initiatives and their implementation. Muham­mad Aurangzeb, Minister for Finance and Revenue, who chaired a meeting with FBR and Karandaaz earlier in the day on the subject emphasized the importance of facilitation of business and people-centric approach in the design of these digital solutions. He stated that the initiative holds a lot of potential which can only be realized through the use of best human capital leading the assessment and design. Experienced international consul­tants that have implemented tax digi­talization solutions in similar contexts should be engaged for this activity.”

Waqas ul Hasan, CEO Karandaaz Pakistan, stated that the initiative is in line with Karandaaz Pakistan’s sponsor Bill and Melinda Gates Foun­dation’s Digital Public Infrastructure workstream and will help in build­ing a robust ecosystem for Pakistan Digital Stack. The transformation when complete will put the taxpay­er’s natural systems at the centre and the tax administration more resilient and agile. The whole nation will ben­efit from the dividends of this digi­tal transformation.” The agreement was signed on March 15th, 2024. On behalf of FBR, Ardsher Salim Tariq, Member (Reforms and Moderniza­tion) inked the agreement and on behalf of Karandaaz Pakistan, the agreement was signed by Sharjeel Murtaza, Director Digital Services.