PM wants monitoring of sugar mills

Orders action against tax defaulters

LAHORE:

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed authorities to bring tax defaulters into the tax net and take strict action against non-compliance. He made the remarks while presiding over a crucial review meeting on the strategies to enhance revenue collection on Saturday.

During the meeting, officials briefed the prime minister on the installation and monitoring of video analytics in the sugar industry. Highlighting the importance of technology, the prime minister said, "Improving the Federal Board of Revenue's (FBR) performance through technology is the government's top priority."

He emphasized that the use of video analytics in the sugar industry would significantly improve revenue collection, eliminate hoarding, and help stabilise prices. "Our utmost effort is to ensure the availability of sugar at an affordable price for the public," he stated, directing regular monitoring of sugar stocks to maintain an uninterrupted supply chain.

The prime minister also ordered stringent and indiscriminate action against tax evasion and under-reporting by sugar mills. He underscored that ongoing measures for the FBR's digitization would bring billions of rupees in benefits to the national treasury.

Additionally, the prime minister instructed the swift completion of FBR's value chain digitization and called for the rapid implementation of video analytics in the cement and tobacco industries.

The meeting was attended by Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Khan Cheema, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, Minister of State for Finance Ali Pervaiz Malik, and senior government officials.