Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday said that the digitisation of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and its transformative plan was the “need of the hour to bring about economic reforms in the country”.

According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), while chairing a meeting to review the matters related to the FBR, the premier was told that the tax regulator had devised a home-grown “transformative plan” to improve its services.

The plan included utilising technology effectively, rewarding efficient officers to improve tax receipts, and improving enforcement of taxation laws.

The plan, the statement said, had been formulated on the prime minister’s orders in consultation with economic and technological experts after analysing tax receipts over the last 25 years.

Formulated by FBR officers and experts within the last 40 days, the programme is said to “ensure tax collection without impeding economic development” and facilitate “the honest taxpayers”.

The plan also calls for strict action on transactions made by those failing to pay full tax on time or those involved in fraud.

The meeting was told that such measures would be enforced after consultation with the “good taxpayers”.

In the first phase of the plan, the “efficient and competent officers” would be posted in Karachi — the large taxpayer unit which contributes 32 per cent of the receipts — and they would be assisted by the auditors and experts.

Additionally, the plan includes rewarding officers who perform well and a mandatory professional degree from the best universities for the officers after their common and specialised training programmes.

Meanwhile, the prime minister appreciated the FBR’s transformation plan, adding that “enhanced tax receipts would upgrade service delivery and the social sector”.

He also called the taxing authority “the backbone of the national economy”.

Regardless, the premier directed the FBR to consult prominent taxpayers regarding the plan and seek approval of the amendments in coordination with the government departments for their effective implementation.

He also directed third-party audits of FBR’s projects and expedited efforts to curb smuggling.

The meeting participants were told that to curb custom duties theft, an appraisal and enforcement mechanism had been devised to assign the task to appraisers and inspectors without their prior knowledge, who would be monitored through cameras, the statement said.