Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has given formal approval for the development of a modern, international-standard digital ecosystem within the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), aimed at transforming Pakistan’s tax collection, transparency, and economic governance. The decision was made during a high-level meeting held on Saturday to review the ongoing reform agenda within the FBR.
The meeting, attended by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Planning Minister Ahad Khan Cheema, Minister of State Bilal Azhar Kayani, FBR Chairman, Chief Coordinator Musharraf Zaidi, and a panel of senior economic experts and officials, marked a pivotal step in Pakistan’s digital reform journey.
According to the official statement from the Prime Minister’s Office Media Wing, the prime minister emphasized the need for building not just a digitized interface, but a fully integrated and intelligent digital ecosystem. He called for the hiring of globally recognized experts to ensure that the design and implementation of the new system aligns with international best practices.
The proposed digital framework will centralize FBR’s data and allow real-time digital monitoring across the entire value chain—from the production or import of raw materials, through manufacturing, to final consumer purchases. The comprehensive system aims to improve traceability, reduce tax evasion, and bring transparency to Pakistan’s largely undocumented economy.
Prime Minister Sharif underscored that this effort should enable real-time monitoring and provide a strategic data infrastructure that can be leveraged for broader economic policymaking. He said the consolidated data would help shape informed and timely decisions at the national level, adding depth and agility to fiscal and industrial strategies.
“Digitization alone is not enough,” said the prime minister. “A holistic digital ecosystem must be established that is capable of tracking every stage of economic activity and feeding it into one unified platform.”
One of the key policy objectives linked to this reform is the expansion of the tax base. Prime Minister Sharif stated that only by ending the informal economy and integrating more taxpayers into the documented economy can the government achieve its goal of reducing the overall tax burden on the common citizen. He stressed that fairness in taxation can only come through broadening compliance and transparency rather than increasing rates on existing taxpayers.
The development of this digital ecosystem is expected to bring Pakistan’s taxation and revenue infrastructure in line with global standards, enabling improved enforcement, better taxpayer profiling, and automated detection of irregularities in economic behavior. It also opens the door to advanced analytics and AI-driven insights that can guide strategic national planning.
This initiative is part of a broader reform package that has been gaining momentum under the current government. With the economy showing early signs of stabilization, the prime minister’s renewed push for digital transformation of FBR signals a clear intention to move beyond stopgap solutions and adopt long-term institutional modernization.
By integrating technology into the very core of tax governance, the government hopes to increase efficiency, reduce human discretion, and ultimately create a more equitable economic framework for all stakeholders.