Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Ali Pervaiz Malik said the government plans to reduce tax burden on salaried employees and remove tax on milk if the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) manages to recover between 300 and 350 billion rupees in tax evasion from smuggling. and unpaid cigarettes.

Malik was speaking at a panel discussion on FBR’s Track and Trace System (TTS) compliance, where he said the Prime Minister had directed the FBR to reduce class income tax employee. Achieving this goal depends largely on controlling losses estimated at Rs 300-350 billion due to illicit trade in the tobacco sector.

The event, organized by the Institute of Public Opinion and Research (IPOR) in partnership with PILDAT, brought together government officials, industry stakeholders, policy experts and media to review the latest findings of the IPOR study on compliance within the sector.

Malik, who chaired the session, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to improving compliance across all sectors through stricter regulations, stressing that a stable economy requires collaborative efforts across the board. He also highlighted the importance of digitalization and technology integration to streamline processes and promote economic stability.

Since the start of the implementation of TTS in 2021 for sectors like tobacco, cement, fertilizers and sugar, the FBR has made it mandatory to affix TTS stamps on all cigarette packets, but full compliance remains difficult.

The IPOR study, conducted across 11 cities in Punjab and Sindh, examined the compliance of 720 outlets across 18 markets. The results indicated that out of 264 cigarette brands surveyed, only 19 were fully compliant with TTS requirements.

Non-compliant brands accounted for 58% of the market, including non-duty-paid locally manufactured brands (65%) and contraband brands (35%), many of which did not carry TTS stamps or violated minimum requirements for compliance. prices and health warnings. Additionally, 197 brands were selling below the minimum legal price (MLP), while 48 non-compliant brands were selling above it.

The roundtable facilitated discussions on the challenges of implementing TTS at the retail level, the tax implications of non-compliance, and the impacts on public health.

Muhammad Zaheer Qureshi, FBR Project Director for TTS, outlined the progress in enforcement and discussed challenges such as industry compliance and technology adaptation. He also outlined the FBR’s efforts to address these issues through stricter regulatory oversight.

The session concluded with recommendations to strengthen retail enforcement, increase penalties for violations, and launch public awareness campaigns, helping consumers understand the importance of purchasing compliant products.