LAHORE: Pakistan’s ‘tax policy office’ will no longer come under the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) as Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb announced on Monday that it will be under the purview of the Ministry of Finance. This means means the FBR will no longer play the crucial role of preparing the annual budget.
“Tax policy office is now moved into the Finance Division. FBR has nothing to do with the policy. The next year’s budget to be presented in 2026 (for FY27) will be led by the finance and tax policy office and not by FBR,” Senator Aurangzeb said while speaking at a workshop titled ‘Unlocking Capital Market Potential for Banks’, organized by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and the Pakistan Banks Association (PBA).
Industrial policy: He also said the government is working consistently on an industrial policy to be announced soon, which will provide an enabling environment and accelerate industrialization in the country.
“Haroon Akhtar (Special Assistant to Prime Minister) is working day and night to get that (industrial policy) through the cabinet and make an announcement. This is an important element of how we are going to move from stability to sustainable growth, because these underline pillars are going to be quite critical,” he said, adding that over the past couple of months the government has already announced policies for tarrifs, electric vehicles, creating a cashless economy and the digital sector.
