Sharjeel Jamal, Convener of FPCCI Committee, has criticized the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for its revenue decrease and privatization proposal. He said that the 3% decrease in FBR revenue is a sign of failure of the entire FBR bureaucracy and their policies. He also said that the continuous implementation of faulty and improper policies has caused irreparable loss to the country.
Jamal said that new posts are being created to accommodate new officers, while customs collectorates and IRS zones are shrinking. He said that the main purpose of automation is to ease work and increase speed, but with the shrinking jurisdictions of officers, this will not be possible.
He termed FBR’s automation system a fraud and said that PRAL (Pakistan Revenue Automation Limited) and PSW (Pakistan Single Window) are the same thing and just an eye wash. He said that PaCCS (Pakistan Customs Computerized System) was a comprehensive system, while PRAL copied the same system. He also said that if WeBOC (Web-Based One Customs) is audited and scrutinized, mind-blowing revelations will be made. He said that WeBOC’s RMS system is flawed and inefficient.
Jamal also said that there was a proposal to privatize the Customs department of FBR during General Pervez Musharraf’s era. He said that it was a good proposal and that if FBR is dissolved and IRS and Customs are privatized, it will end corruption in the revenue collection system and ease the unnecessary burden of sustaining bureaucrats.
In conclusion, Jamal is highly critical of FBR’s performance and privatization proposal. He believes that FBR has failed to collect revenue efficiently and that privatization is the best way to improve the revenue collection system.