From Our Correspondent
PESHAWAR: Pakistani Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Dr Ashfaq Ahmed pledged to achieve revenue target of Pakistani Rs 8 trillion by 2023 with the support of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) development.
Speaking to journalists here, Ahmed said that Prime Minister Imran Khan has his own vision for revenue collection and economic development in the country, in which achieving revenue target of up to Rs 8 trillion is one of the top priorities.
The FBR chairman maintained that the role of FBR was very important in all three trade corridors, including Chaman and Torkham, which would be strengthened under CPEC.
Ahmed elaborated that in the current Financial Year (FY) 2021-22 – ending on June 30, 2022 – the government’s original revenue target was Rs 5.830 trillion which was expected to increase to Rs 6 trillion by June 2022.
“We have collected Rs 300 billion more revenue than our target till December 31. FBR would achieve all its revenue targets and would further play its role in the country’s economy,” he added.
Ahmed stressed that Pakistan Customs was the protector of economic borders of the country and that they have always been playing its role for trade promotion.
He mentioned that Pakistan Customs was playing its best role in enforcing trade laws at Chaman and Torkham borders. “Transparent trade brought prosperity and development in the country,” he contended.
The FBR chairman vowed to digitalize every FBR office. “FBR currently has the largest data portal which is in a dire need of digitization. This data can be very important in the trade and economic development of the country,” he underscored.
Earlier, the Pakistan Customs (FBR) celebrated International Customs Day, 2022 by holding a dignified ceremony at Customs House, Peshawar.
The World Customs Organization (WCO) selected the slogan “Scaling up Customs Digital Transformation by Embracing a Data Culture and Building a Data Ecosystem” as this year’s theme.
The FBR Chairman graced the occasion as the chief guest. The event was attended by a large number of dignitaries, Ambassadors, Parliamentarians, Federal Secretaries, senior officers of Pakistan Customs, businessmen and media representatives.
