LAHORE (APP): Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has directed authorities to bring tax defaulters into the tax net and take strict action against non-compliance. He made these remarks while presiding over a crucial review meeting on 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 stabilize prices. “Our utmost effort is to ensure the availability of sugar at affordable prices for the public,” he stated, directing regular monitoring of sugar stocks to maintain an uninterrupted supply chain.
Read More: SBP reserves climb to $12.08 billion amid growing current account surplus
The prime minister also ordered stringent and indiscriminate action against tax evasion and under-reporting by sugar mills. He underscored that ongoing measures for 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.
Separately, Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank increased by $30.7 million, or 0.25 per cent, reaching $12.081 billion in the week ending December 13, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
The overall forex reserves in the country rose by $31.8 million to $16.633 billion, while reserves held by commercial banks saw a slight increase of $1 million, totalling $4.551 billion.
The SBP attributed the rise in reserves to a surplus in the current account and higher foreign investment inflows, despite weak official inflows.
In its monetary policy statement, the SBP noted that remittances from overseas workers and export earnings are expected to keep the current account deficit low, within the projected range of 0–1 per cent of GDP for the fiscal year 2025.
It also predicted that the central bank’s reserves would exceed $13.0 billion by June 2025.
Pakistan recorded a current account surplus of $729 million in November, a significant improvement from the $346 million surplus in October and a stark contrast to the $148 million deficit in November 2023.
Over the first five months of FY25, the country’s current account surplus reached $944 million, compared to a $1.67 billion deficit during the same period last year