In a major shakeup, federal government decides to restructure the entire tax machinery
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ISLAMABAD: In a major shakeup, the government has decided to restructure the entire tax machinery and introduce centralised collection of general sales tax (GST) on services and goods, reported *Dawn*.
According to the report, the proposed measures were already approved by PM Imran Khan on October 3 with a restructuring plan to convert the incumbent Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) into Pakistan Revenue Authority (PRA) with a deadline of June 2020.
But, the proposed timeline did not go as planned as the Inland Revenue Service (IRS) chief commissioners opposed the move in a meeting held on Monday.
A source quoted in the report said that IRS officers will hold another meeting on Tuesday with the FBR chairman to appraise him about their concerns. Both tax groups — IRS and customs – have also warned to go on a pen down strike in case government did not change the proposed plan.
According to the report, the Ministry of Finance will prepare a comprehensive framework for PRA and centralised GST collection on services by the PRA. These reforms are part of the World Bank-funded ‘Pakistan Raises Revenue Project’.
On the issue of centralised collection of GST on services, it has been decided to constitute a joint committee comprising representatives from the Ministry of Finance, the FBR and provincial revenue authorities to finalise a proposal.
