On Monday, 28^th July 2025, Dr. Hamid Atiq Sarwar, Former Member (Inland Revenue Operations), Federal Board of Revenue, delivered a lecture on “Federal Tax Structure in Pakistan” to the 38^th Senior Management Course at the National Institute of Public Administration, Lahore.

Dr. Hamid started with the historical snapshot of taxation and its formative process leading to modern day taxation across the globe. He presented with a macro snapshot: Pakistan’s tax to GDP ratio has hovered near 10%, leaving a PKR 5.9 trillion revenue gap in FY 2024 and a projected PKR 7.1 trillion gap next year. He attributed the shortfall to heavy reliance on indirect taxes, limited direct tax compliance among the wealthiest five percent, and under resourced tax administration.

Presenting a reform blueprint, he proposed mandatory KYC for sales tax registration, Al assisted return prefilling, wider point of sale integration, and data driven audit selection within Inland Revenue. For Customs, he urged faceless electronic appraisal, risk-based container scanning, and tighter control of Afghan transit trade and border smuggling. Four digital enablers, integrated IT architecture, real time analytics, value chain monitoring (POS, RFID, e invoicing), and robust delivery infrastructure, anchor the strategy.

During Q&A session, participants posed various question to understand recent reforms and linkages with the economic growth. Dr. Hamid closed by stressing that sustained political will and disciplined execution can transform the FBR into a data driven revenue authority, securing the fiscal space needed for inclusive growth.