ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has decided to further strengthen the Track & Trace System (TTS) and electronic production monitoring by extending it to additional high-risk and revenue-significant sectors, including tile manufacturing units, textile spinning factories and Green Leaf Threshing (GLT) units across the country.
Following the installation of TTS in the tobacco, sugar, cement and fertiliser sectors, the FBR is now preparing to deploy electronic monitoring of production systems and track-and-trace mechanisms in these new sectors, sources said.
Addressing a recent meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance, the FBR chairman disclosed that tax evasion in the tile manufacturing sector alone is estimated at around Rs30 billion. He added that enhanced monitoring would help secure an additional Rs76 billion in revenue from the sugar sector and Rs102 billion from the cement sector during the current year.
The chairman further noted that the tobacco sector continues to suffer from large-scale tax evasion, with an estimated Rs80 billion lost annually due to illegal trade at the Green Leaf Threshing (GLT) stage.
In this context, the FBR on Tuesday issued a new document outlining plans for the installation of TTS in high-risk sectors, aimed at improving tax compliance, transparency and the effectiveness of enforcement through advanced technology.
As part of the initiative, the FBR has issued a Request for Information (RFI) to stakeholders to identify potential technology solution providers. The RFI seeks input on DNA-based, forensic and molecular authentication technologies, as well as other advanced systems designed to strengthen traceability, curb counterfeiting and enhance enforcement.
According to the FBR, the RFI is intended to gather market feedback to help refine the terms of reference and scope of future projects, assess available technical and operational capabilities, and identify potential challenges, risks and dependencies associated with various technologies and delivery models.
The tax authority clarified that the RFI is purely for information-gathering and market-sounding purposes and does not constitute a solicitation or create any legal or financial obligation for the FBR. Participation will not confer any right or expectation of future engagement.
Interested firms and state-owned enterprises have been invited to submit non-binding information related to track-and-trace systems, production monitoring systems, secure identification and serialization technologies, digital dashboards, analytics and management information systems, integration with ERP and tax systems, as well as mobile verification and field enforcement tools.
