FBR to set up data-processing centres

Committee will devise a procedure to integrate sales tax, excise duty figures.

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has decided to establish data-processing centres for the reporting of sales tax and federal excise duty, sources said on Wednesday.

A committee has been formed under the chairmanship of Chief Coordinator (Computer Wing) Sardar Munawar Zaman which will make recommendations to check inaccuracies in the reporting of sales tax and federal excise duty, they said.

The committee will also formulate standard operating procedures (SOPs) to monitor the accounting of sales tax and federal excise duty.

The FBR already uses data-processing centres for income tax reporting.

The sources said that the committee would devise a procedure to integrate sales tax and excise duty figures with the FBR’s data-processing system.

Talking to The Express Tribune, an FBR official said that the reason for the last year’s flawed tax collection figure was the FBR’s failure to record sales tax and federal excise duty data via data-processing centres.

“There were no inaccuracies in income tax figures because their record is maintained by data-processing centres,” he said.

“Many field formations submitted gross figures for sales tax and federal excise duty last year, which led to a flawed tax figure,” he said.

He said that these data-processing centres were supposed to come into existence six to 12 months ago.

“The data related to sales tax and federal excise duty will now be managed by these centres. Gross and net figures for sales tax and federal excise duty will be shown separately from now on, which will reduce the risk of any inaccuracies,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 11^th, 2011.