Spokesman Report

ISLAMABAD: Building further on its monthly tradition, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) held 9th computerized ballot of its flagship initiative of Point of Sale (POS) Invoicing Prize Scheme on Thursday in Multan. A total of Rs. 54 million were disbursed among the 1017 lucky draw winners during the ceremony. Sardar Ali Khawaja, Member Public Relations (FBR) was the chief guest on this occasion.The ceremony was also attended by senior officials, local trader community, and representatives of the mainstream national media.

Addressing on the occasion, Sardar Ali Khawaja underlined the importance of depositing the due sales tax by retailers in state exchequer. He urged upon the trader community to become part of POS Scheme by integrating with FBR’s automated system and thus contribute to country’s growth and prosperity with enhanced tax collection. He also motivated the general public to always ask for pakki receipt after shopping from tier-1 outlets to ensure that their sales tax is deposited into the state exchequer.

Mr. Khawaja said that FBR was making all-out endeavours to bridge trust deficit between traders and tax authorities in order to maximize tax compliance. He apprised that Chairman FBR, Mr. Asim Ahmad has held many rounds of discussions with trader community in order to thrash out a mutually acceptable way forward over tax collection mechanism.

Addressing the local business community, the chief guest noted that registration ratio of retailers was very less in Multan region and encouraged them to integrate with FBR POS system as part of their national duty. Earlier in his welcome note, Chief Commissioner RTO, Multan, Abid Mehmood said that regional tax office was undertaking measures to bring more tier-1 retailers under POS scheme and in this regard regular meetings were being held with them. He stated that POS was a unique scheme and its effective implementation will further enhance revenue collection.

Prior to this ninth round, eight computerized ballots of POS prize scheme have already been successfully organized by FBR this year. The POS scheme to attract taxpayers and top Tier-1 retailers is progressing successfully which is evident from the fact that the number of verified invoices was increasing with each passing month.

During the event, video clips of winners of last month’s prize scheme were also aired wherein they appreciated FBR for launching this innovative POS lucky draw scheme. Out of Rs. 54 million disbursed among 1017 lucky winners, Rs. 1 million was contributed by Metro Pakistan, with Rs 100,000 each for 10 winners. All the winners were selected through a transparent computerized balloting process, held live before the national media.