Third computer ballot for POS Prize scheme held at FBR

ISLAMABAD: Continuing with the monthly computer ballot for its innovative POS Prize Scheme, Federal Board of Revenue successfully organised a third successive lucky draw at FBR Headquarters Islamabad, this evening.

In addition to 1007 lucky winners winning prizes worth 53 Million, another 10 individuals won prizes of Rs 100,000 each, sponsored by Metro Stores Pakistan for its valued customers. This has taken the winners list to 1017, winning prizes worth Rs.54 Million.

Addressing on the occasion, Chairman FBR/ Secretary Revenue Division Dr Muhammad Ashfaq Ahmed reiterated that for the past few years, FBR had been vigorously pursuing its drive for digitization, transparency, and automation not only to document the economy but also to plug revenue leakages through a transparent tax system.

He further emphasized that FBR will continue to maximize tax compliance through various innovative initiatives including the POS Prize Scheme. The annual business turnover of the retail sector in Pakistan was about Rs. 20 Trillion but only around 20% was visible to FBR for tax compliance. This innovative Prize Scheme was launched to digitally monitor the sales made by Tier-1 Retailers across Pakistan to ensure that tax collected from customers was safely deposited into state exchequer, he concluded.

It is pertinent to mention that in February, about 2,60,833 invoices were verified by customers who shopped from outlets integrated with FBR POS System as against 153,000 in January 2022. Likewise, around 38 Million invoices were issued by Tier-1 Retailers which are integrated with FBR POS System in February as compared to 37 Million in January, 2022, despite the relevant month being short of 3 days as compared to January. Approximately, another 4 million verified invoices would have been added to tally if 3 more days were available in February.The number of customers has also jumped from 27,000 in January to around 39000 in February who successfully verified their invoices. This is a phenomenal increase in public participation and is likely to further grow with every passing day.

Furthermore,FBR  has already distributed prizes worth Rs.106 million among 2014 lucky winners in two computerized ballots held in a transparent manner on 15th of January & February 2022. More than half of the fortunate winners have already got the prize money transferred into their bank accounts. It is also worth sharing that people are showing a lot of interest in becoming part of this computerized draw, which is being held regularly on the 15th of every month.

It is quite reassuring to share that out of around 4200 identified as Tier-1 Retailers, over 3600 have already integrated their business operations with FBR’s POS System. Their 17000 outlets with over 19500 cash counters are fully integrated with POS Systems.