ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday launched “first-ever” Track and Trace System (TTS) introduced by the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) for sugar sector, highlighting that taxes were vital for country’s economic stability.
“Our biggest problem is that we don’t have enough money to run our country due to which we have to borrow loans,” the prime minister said while addressing the inaugural ceremony in Islamabad.
The Prime Minister stressed the need for promoting and strengthening tax culture in the country by assuring people that their taxes would be spent for welfare of their children instead of luxuries of rulers.
He said the country’s people would not hesitate in paying tax if their confidence on government machinery was restored. PM Imran while appreciating the FBR for introducing TTS said that this system will have “far reaching” impact on the tax collection of the country.
Citing examples from Western countries, the premier said tax to GDP ratio in Scandinavian countries was approximately 50 per cent. “But in Pakistan unfortunately the tax culture was never developed,” he said, adding that the ruling elite of the country never took measure to encourage masses to pay taxes.
The premier was of the view that Pakistan could only overcome the “vicious cycle” of debt by paying taxes. He appreciated the FBR for collecting record taxes, saying that his government was aiming to achieve tax target of Rs8 trillion.
Track and Trace System
According to APP, the FBR’s TTS will ensure electronic monitoring of the production and sale of important sectors including tobacco, fertilizer, sugar and cement sectors. This will help bring transparency in the system and enhance the country’s revenue.
Under the system, no production bag of sugar will be taken out from the factory and manufacturing plant without stamp and individual identity mark. In the next phase, the FBR was planning to introduce the track and system in petroleum and beverages sector.
