PM approves creation of digital ecosystem at FBR
During a meeting to review progress on the ongoing reforms in the FBR, the prime minister observed that the economy was moving in a positive direction due to the recent reforms in FBR.
Ministers Muhammad Aurangzeb, Ahsad Khan Cheema, Minister of State Bilal Azhar Kayani, FBR Chairman, Chief Coordinator Musharraf Zaidi, economic experts and other senior officials attended the meeting, PM Office Media Wing said in a press release.
The meeting was briefed on the progress regarding the formation of a modern digital ecosystem aimed at centralizing FBR's data and enabling real-time monitoring of the entire value chain.
The prime minister, while chairing the meeting, emphasized that not only digitization, but a comprehensive digital ecosystem should be established to strengthen the new system and directed that all the relevant data, from raw material production and import, to manufacturing of goods and the final consumers' purchase, should be integrated into a single system.
The prime minister said the system should be made so effective that the entire value chain could be monitored digitally in real time. He further opined that the centralized data collected under this system should be utilized for the economic strategic decision-making.
The prime minister stressed that the goal of reducing taxes for the common man could only be achieved by increasing the tax base and ending the informal economy.
Incentive scheme
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has decided to continue the incentive scheme for the remittances of overseas Pakistanis to Pakistan. He directed the Ministry of Finance to immediately release funds for the Workers' Remittances Incentive Scheme on priority basis. He said, "Overseas Pakistanis are our strength and a valuable asset of Pakistan."
"The hard-earned remittances of overseas Pakistanis play an important role in the development of Pakistan, which the entire nation, including me, values," he added.
In the fiscal year 2025, he said overseas Pakistanis played a key role in achieving the target of current account surplus for the first time in 14 years by sending a record high of $38.3 billion in remittances.
These remittances not only helped pay the rising import bill but also helped increase foreign exchange reserves, he noted.
He said "Overseas workers and businessmen play a crucial role in the country's development and progress by sending remittances to their homeland."
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