Islamabad, July 2, 2025 (TNS): Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday commended the Ministry of Finance and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for achieving a record 42% increase in federal tax revenues during the fiscal year 2024–25 — the highest growth in over a decade.
Chairing a high-level weekly review meeting on FBR’s digitization and reform agenda, the prime minister was briefed that recent reforms and the enforcement of new tax laws had enabled the government to collect an additional Rs 865 billion in revenues compared to the previous year — an eightfold increase. The federal revenue-to-GDP ratio also rose significantly to 11.3%, marking a 1.5% improvement over the last fiscal year.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif emphasized that no institutional complacency would be tolerated in meeting revenue and economic targets for the new fiscal year. “All departments must work with complete dedication,” he asserted, reaffirming his personal oversight of revenue collection and economic reforms.
He instructed FBR to treat taxpayers with dignity and urged all public sector institutions to cooperate fully with the revenue authority. The prime minister underscored the importance of expanding the tax net through digitalization and stricter enforcement.
Among the key directives issued were expansion of the Track and Trace Digital Production System to monitor all stages of production and distribution, aiming to bring untaxed goods into the formal tax net; mandatory digitization of production processes for tax non-compliant businesses and industries; wider deployment of the Point of Sale (POS) system in the retail sector to enhance documentation and transparency; and strengthened business facilitation, ensuring FBR remains accessible and responsive to the needs of the business community and taxpayers.
The prime minister also congratulated participants on the successful passage of the upcoming fiscal year’s budget and reiterated the government’s firm resolve to steer Pakistan toward a stable and prosperous economic future.
During the briefing, it was noted that the Track and Trace system has already been fully implemented in the sugar, tobacco, and fertilizer sectors, with plans underway to expand its coverage to the cement and other industries.
The meeting was attended by Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, Federal Minister for Law Azam Nazeer Tarar, the FBR Chairman, and other senior government officials.
