The Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) and the World Bank have agreed to introduce advanced digital systems to expand the tax base and improve revenue collection in Punjab.
The agreement was reached on Monday during a meeting between PRA Chairman Moazzam Iqbal Sipra and a World Bank delegation led by Regional Director Michael Roggi and Manager Sylvia Solf, according to a PRA spokesperson.
Participants discussed modernising the provincial tax system, the use of digital databases in tax collection and the Digital Economy Enhancement Project. They agreed to adopt modern tax models and international best practices from other countries.
Sipra told the delegation that digital tools would be used to bring new businesses into the tax net. He said digital data would help identify tax evasion, misappropriation and discrepancies in business records.
The meeting also proposed integrating data from different government departments to build a more effective collection system. The World Bank delegation said the digital monitoring and tax administration systems of the PRA would be further strengthened.
With the technical and financial support from the World Bank, PRA and the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) will jointly prepare a working plan for digital tax reforms.
Sipra said modern technology would allow better use of data on tax returns, payments and business activities. He added that data analytics would be promoted in line with international standards and that a practical reform roadmap would be developed with World Bank assistance.
