Shehbaz orders action against over-invoicing

ISLAMABAD:

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday directed the relevant authorities to immediately take legal action against all individuals involved in the illegal practice of over-invoicing.

Chairing a review meeting regarding Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), the prime minister noted with concern that from 2017 to 2022, the illegal practice of over-invoicing continued, and the relevant institutions remained consistently negligent in performing their duties.

He also directed the authorities concerned to identify those responsible for negligence and to accelerate departmental proceedings against them.

During the meeting, a report of the committee formed to investigate over-invoicing was presented in the meeting. The prime minister appreciated the report of the committee headed by Mushtaq Ahmed Sukhera.

"Tax money is a trust of the nation; protecting it is our duty, and we are accountable for every single penny," the prime minister said directing that a comprehensive strategy be devised to prevent such incidents in the future.

He instructed that the Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU) be made an active institution and that representatives from the FIA and Intelligence Bureau be included in it.

During the briefing, the meeting was informed that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) had developed a Centralized Price Verification Portal.

It was further told in the meeting that the portal will be integrated with banks by the end of June. The FBR's Post Clearance Audit Wing had identified this over-invoicing scheme in October 2022.

The meeting was further told that so far, 13 FIRs have been registered against those involved, and legal proceedings are ongoing.

The meeting was attended by Federal Ministers Musadik Malik, Ahad Khan Cheema, Attaullah Tarar, Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan, Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani, the Chairman FBR, and other senior officials.