ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday said record tax collection was the outcome of reforms, digitisation and teamwork pursued over the past two and a half years to revamp the tax machinery.

The remarks came from the prime minister while speaking to senior tax officers at the Prime Minister’s Secretariat to celebrate the achievement of the downward-revised revenue collection target for FY26.

Mr Sharif said he personally chaired review meetings on FBR affairs twice a month because reforms in the tax authority remain one of the government’s highest priorities. He stressed that only officers with good reputations had been posted in field formations, while corrupt elements had no place in the organisation.

Alongside revenue mobilisation, he emphasised that facilitating taxpayers and the business community should remain a priority. He said the pace of ongoing reforms in the FBR would be further accelerated, with expansion of the tax net, greater transparency, and impro­ved taxpayer facilitation remaining the Board’s foremost priorities.

The new FBR’s operating model, he added, would be based on a faceless, digital system with minimal human intervention.

The prime minister directed the formation of a high-level committee to improve the career progression of officers in the Pakistan Customs Service and the Inland Revenue Service and to further strengthen their service structure.

According to the briefing, Karachi Large Taxpa­yer Office (LTO) collected Rs528 billion in June, while Lahore LTU mobilised Rs261bn. Customs duty collection at airports rose 21 per cent over the past year.

Calling the achievement of the revenue target for FY26 “a milestone”, the prime minister extended congratulations to each officer individually and to the FBR staff collectively. He noted that timely payment of nearly Rs600bn in tax refunds during the year had facilitated the business community and supported export growth.

Published in Dawn, July 3rd, 2026