F.P. Report
ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar on Wednesday, reiterating his government’s priority to widen the tax net, instructed all the relevant departments to work collectively for bringing in tax reforms.
The prime minister, chairing a meeting to discuss the matters pertaining to the Federal Board of Revenue and Privatisation Division, emphasised the need to improve coordination between federal and provincial governments to carry out tax documentation. He said that the FBR was an important component of the government machinery.
He instructed the authorities concerned to fulfill the legal obligations to accelerate the privatisation of loss-making state-owned enterprises and asked all the federal ministries to cooperate with the Privatisation Division. In the briefing, the prime minister was told that the FBR was determined to achieve the tax collection target of Rs 9,415 billion. The Board had collected Rs 538 billion in July this year against the target of Rs 534 billion, and Rs 669 billion in August against the target of Rs 648 billion. It was told that the domestic tax collection had witnessed an increase of 38.7 percent during 2023-24 comparing the previous year. The prime minister was told that digital tools were also being used to enhance the tax-to-GDP ratio and the FBR’s database was also being linked with other departments. The FBR was also striving to achieve the target of including another one million taxpayers in the tax net as 182,000 new taxpayers had already been added this year. The prime minister was told that the scope of Point of Sales system was being expanded to more cities and retailers.
The efforts are being made to add another 20,000 new retailers in the PoS this year, besides formulating a strategy on Transit Trade Management System. It was told that work on the Customs digitalisation was underway and Pakistan Single Window system was being linked with more government institutions.
The Privatisation Division was working to improve working and service delivery of government corporations by utilising the capabilities of the private sector. Caretaker Finance Minister Dr Shamshad Akhtar, Advisor Ahad Cheema, federal secretaries of finance, aviation and privatisation, FBR chairman and relevant senior officers attended the meeting.
Kakar assures all possible support to IT Ministry to expand exports: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, appreciating the measures taken by the IT Ministry to reform the telecom and IT sector, assured that the caretaker government would provide all possible support to the ministry for expanding the IT exports. He was chairing a meeting to review the steps taken by the Ministry for Information Technology to enhance the IT exports by over $5 billion by bringing reforms in the sector. The prime minister expressed the hope that the measures would help improve the national economy, besides creating more employment opportunities in the sector, and earning valuable foreign exchange reserves.
He was informed about the plan being executed by the ministry for increasing the IT exports and the measures taken for development of the sector. It was told that the ministry was working to bring all the government services at federal level under one umbrella by digitizing them, which would enable the government to improve the tax collection system and identify the evaders. Furthermore, the complete digitization of economy was also underway.
It was further apprised that it would be made mandatory for all the university students across the country to get the IT training of international standard. “This measure will help increase the skilled workforce of international standard in the IT sector by over 200,000 that will in turn raise the IT exports to $5 billion.”
The prime minister was informed that the ministry was taking measures to provide training and facilities to the free lancers, including easy inflow of their remittances. The measures include interest-free loans to the private sector for the provision of co-working spaces, access of freelancers to internationally popular payment service providers and provision of fast speed Internet facility. “These measures will help increase the exports of IT sector by $3 billion,” the meeting was told.
It was further informed that the government was also taking steps for easy access to loans and investment for i-startups, due to which external investment of $1 billion was expected in the next six months. The ministry also presented a plan for bringing reforms in the telecom sector and provision of high speed 5-G service. The meeting was attended by Caretaker Minister for Information Technology Dr Umar Saif, Advisor the PM Ahad Khan Cheema and other relevant officials.
PM directs framing of industrial policy to spur economic growth: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar directed that a national industrial policy should be formulated as soon as possible to spur economic growth and increase industrial production. He issued the directive during a briefing on the performance and targets of Ministry of Commerce, and Ministry of Industries and Production. The prime minister asked the relevant officers to increase the contribution of industries in the gross domestic product of Pakistan from the present 12 percent to optimum capacity through formulation of an effective strategy.
He said Pakistan should be made a hub of trade, transportation and transhipment by taking advantage of its unique geographical location. He instructed that a training programme should be held for the business community and the logistics companies to make them aware about the international road transport system.
The PM said the process of privatisation of the loss making state-owned enterprises should be expedited. He was told about the performance of the officers posted abroad for enhancing trade and investment of Pakistan. It was informed that economic partnership with the Central Asian states would be part of the strategy to increase exports.
Consultations were continuing with the stakeholders for the establishment of Land Port Authority. The meeting was also told about the different aspects of the recently approved policy for local manufacturing of mobile handsets. It was informed that in the next two years, four million handsets would be locally manufactured which would reduce the import bill and increase exports.
The PM was also apprised of the steps to streamline the exports of gemstone products. PM Kakar said a training programme about the use of modern technology should be arranged for upgrading skills of local craftsmen in order to increase their capacity for gemstone exports. In the sector, two billion dollars of exports were expected in the next two years.
He also stressed for electronic warehousing for promotion of e-commerce in the country. Minister for Commerce Gohar Ejaz, Minister for Finance Dr Shamshad Akhtar, Advisor to the PM Ahad Cheema, State Bank governor and high ranking officers attended the meeting.
Govt to resolve Karachi trader’s problems on priority: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar said that the federal government would address problems of Karachi traders on priority. He was talking to Governor Sindh, Kamran Khan Tessori who called on him here.
During the meeting, the governor Sindh briefed the prime minister in detail about the administration matters and the overall law and order situation of the province. The governor also presented the recommendation about the power tariff prepared by Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) and the city’s traders. PM Kakar thanked the governor Sindh and issued directives to the relevant authorities to work on the recommendation and present a report as soon as possible.
PM, CEO Huawei Pakistan discuss investment opportunities: A delegation of Huawei Pakistan led by its Chief Executive Officer Ethan Sun called on Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar and discussed prospects of investment of their company in Pakistan.
During the meeting, Ethan Sun informed the prime minister about the work being done by Huawei for the promotion and development of the ecosystem for information technology in Pakistan. Huawei had set up about 100 information technology centers in different universities of Pakistan, he said.
The prime minister appreciated Huawei for its steps for the spread of information technology in Pakistan and expressed the hope that Huawei would help the government in training of youth and women, especially of those living in the far flung areas of the country, in the field of information.
He welcomed the desire of Huawei to make further investment in Pakistan in the field of information technology. He also invited Huawei to set up plants for the production of mobile handsets. Caretaker Minister for Information Technology Dr Umar Saif was also present in the meeting.
PM, Naval Chief visit family of martyred Naval officer for condolence: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar visited the family of Lt. Commander Hamza Abid of the Pakistan Navy who was martyred in a helicopter crash in Gwadar.
Accompanied by Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi, the prime minister expressed condolences to the parents and family members of the martyred naval officer. The father of the martyred officer had also served in the Pakistan Navy. “We as a nation are indebted to the martyrs,” the prime minister wrote on X, formerly Twitter. He also prayed to Allah Almighty to elevate the ranks of the martyrs in the paradise.
PM for widening tax net
