The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has embarked on a significant digital transformation journey by partnering with Karandaaz Pakistan to digitize the tax system. This collaboration underscores FBR’s commitment to automating its processes and embracing digitalization to enhance taxpayer compliance, document the economy, expand the tax base, and ensure sustainable revenue growth. The agreement with Karandaaz Pakistan, an impact investment platform driving economic growth and strengthening financial and social protection systems, aims to develop a comprehensive digital strategy for FBR’s digital transformation. This strategy will focus on assessing business needs, existing IT infrastructure, and systems, and streamlining business processes to digitize Pakistan’s tax system, emphasizing service-oriented and taxpayer-centric use cases.
At the signing ceremony, Malik Amjed Zubair Tiwana, Chairman FBR, highlighted FBR’s efforts in digitalizing the economy and supply chain, along with initiatives to address the challenge of the undocumented economy and expand the tax base. The collaboration with Karandaaz will further accelerate FBR’s efforts to digitize the tax system and its implementation.
Minister for Finance and Revenue, Muhammad Aurangzeb, emphasized the importance of a business and people-centric approach in designing digital solutions. He stressed the need for engaging experienced international consultants to lead the assessment and design process, ensuring the success of the digitalization initiative.
Waqas ul Hasan, CEO Karandaaz Pakistan, noted that the initiative aligns with Karandaaz’s workstream on Digital Public Infrastructure, sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The transformation will place taxpayer-centric systems at the core, making the tax administration more resilient and agile. The entire nation stands to benefit from the dividends of this digital transformation.
The agreement, signed by Ardsher Salim Tariq, Member (Reforms and Modernization) on behalf of FBR, and Sharjeel Murtaza, Director Digital Services on behalf of Karandaaz Pakistan, marks a significant milestone in Pakistan’s journey towards digitizing its tax system. This collaboration is expected to drive greater efficiency, transparency, and effectiveness in tax administration, ultimately benefiting the economy and the people of Pakistan.