KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) will help the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to fully operationalize the Synchronized Withholding Administration and Payment System (SWAPS) to check practices of large withholding tax agents such as banks, power distribution companies, telecom companies, and government institutions, etc, who are still depositing withholding tax through a single payment receipt for multiple taxpayers.
The issue of the e-invoicing system in Pakistan was discussed in detail during the first day of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR)’s “International Conference on Digitalization of Taxes in Pakistan”.
The opening session of the conference was held at the FBR Headquarters. The day-long conference was chaired by FBR Member Admin and Human Resouce Syed Nadeem Hussain Rizvi.
On the second day, the role of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in helping the FBR in operationalizing SWAPS through the RAAST payment gateway will also be discussed on Wednesday (today).
The conference would also discuss the strategy for implementing an E-Withholding Tax System in Pakistan.
Haneen Saif, Deputy Director (SWAPS), FBR will share Pakistan’s experience and plans for the e-withholding tax system.
The opening remarks were given by Alberto Isgut, Economic Affairs Officer, Financing for Development Section, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
Experts shared that the biggest challenges to e-invoicing in Pakistan are related to IT systems, infrastructure, legal and policy frameworks, institutional coordination, human resources, cybersecurity, data privacy, and others.
In the first session, Mark Stockwell, Director of e-Invoicing, Australian Taxation Office explained in detail the practical issues in implementing the E-Invoicing.
The panel discussion focused on the strategy for implementing E-Invoicing in Pakistan. Later, Frank Chan on additional international experiences gave a presentation.
A detailed presentation was also given by Ali Saeed, Deputy Director (Digital Invoicing) on Pakistan’s experience and plans. Besides, Omar Bin Ahsan on e-invoicing on how private partners support and collaborate with the FBR to implement e-invoicing in the country.
The practical issues in the implementation of the point of sales (POS) system in Pakistan will also be discussed.
A presentation will also be given by Attila Mizanyi, Head of the Risk Analysis and Data Science Department of Central Management at the National Tax and Customs Administration, Hungary.
