World Bank rates Pakistan Raises Revenue Program progress as satisfactory

The program aims to broaden the tax base and automate tax administration.

The World Bank said it was satisfied overall with progress on Pakistan Raises Revenue Program. It cited reforms to simplify the tax regime, automate administration and expand the tax net.

Author: Робот Source: Federal Board of Revenue of Pakistan

Representatives of the World Bank and Pakistan's Federal Board of Revenue at a meeting — World Bank and Pakistan Federal Board of Revenue representatives review the revenue program. Illustrative photo. Photo: Shiny Things / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Asim Ahmad and World Bank Country Director for Pakistan Najy Benhassine met at FBR headquarters on November 10, 2022, to review progress on the Pakistan Raises Revenue Program.

FBR is implementing the program with financial assistance from the World Bank. It is intended to support sustainable growth in domestic revenue by broadening the tax base and facilitating compliance.

The World Bank completed a mid-term review of the program in October-November 2022. Based on its initial findings, the bank expressed overall satisfaction with the project's progress.

The bank cited reforms to simplify the tax regime, automate tax administration, expand the tax net and harmonize the general sales tax.

FBR Chairman praised the work of teams on both sides and said the program would further strengthen the board's information and communication technology-based tax administration by upgrading and enhancing its IT capacity.

FBR and the World Bank agreed to continue the project's reform agenda with renewed focus to achieve all intended results.

Source: Federal Board of Revenue of Pakistan